You’ve got to give credit to the New Orleans Pelicans for not giving up, even when it looked extremely bleak in the final moments of game five against the Golden State Warriors. However, it wasn’t enough as the Pelicans season came to an end with a 113-104 loss to the Warriors.
How It Happened
It was back and forth early on in the first quarter, but the Warriors started to pull away and get out to a 17-10 lead with 6:22 left. The lead didn’t change for the rest of the quarter, but the Pelicans kept it close getting the lead down to low as one point in the final moments of the first.
Things went from bad to worse for New Orleans early in the second with Golden State getting out to an 11-point lead with 5:02 left before halftime. The Pelicans didn’t go away quietly, getting it down to a three-point deficit at the break after a late fadeaway jumper from Jrue Holiday.
That momentum from the end of the first half didn’t carry over though for the Pelicans as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson started the second half hotter than a cayenne pepper, getting out to a 24-point lead with 6:25 left in the third quarter.
After a Steph Curry layup with 8:18 left in regulation made it 105-82, New Orleans responded with a 16-2 run to get back into the ballgame in the final two minutes. However, a driving layup by Draymond Green slammed the door shut on any chances of a rally.
Big Number: 83.3%
The Warriors made the most of their 12 free throw attempts on Tuesday night, shooting 83.3% compared to the Pelicans 75% (12-16).
Player of the Game: Anthony Davis
Davis was a big catalyst for that late run to chip away at the lead with 34 points and 19 boards on the evening.
Next Up: Warriors-Rockets NBA Finals
-Clint Domingue