Following a truly forgettable performance in Game 3, the Warriors dominated the Pelicans from beginning to end in Game 4 on Sunday, taking a 3-1 lead in the series with a 118-92 win, behind a 38 point performance by Kevin Durant
KD was at his most unstoppable, going 15-27 (55 percent) from the field, adding nine rebounds and five assists in his most dominant showing of the postseason thus far.
On the flip side, Pelicans star Anthony Davis had easily his worst performance of the postseason, despite a decivingly impressive 26 point, 12 rebound stat line. Davis shot just 8-22 (36 percent) from the field, missed a handful of easy shots around the rim, and scored 10 of his 26 points at the free throw line.
Draymond Green also provided a huge spark on both ends for the Warriors, finishing with a game best +28 in 37 minutes, and a typically Draymondish eight points, nine rebounds, nine assists, four steals stat line.
After the surprising and ineffective decision to start JaVale McGee in Game 3, Steve Kerr went with the Warriors’ death lineup (Curry, Thompson, Durant, Iguodala, Green) to start Game 4, for the first time ever. The unit’s +12 start set the tone for the game, and proved to be the most effective starting lineup by far through the series’ first four games.
The death lineup was simply on another level on Sunday. In their 18 minutes on the floor, the unit went +26 in the 26-point victory.
In his second game back in the starting lineup, Curry looked energetic in 32 minutes, finishing with 23 points on 8-17 shooting (47 percent).
Backup point guard Quinn Cook also had his best performance of the postseason, scoring 12 points off the bench. New Orleans bench as a whole scored just 14.
The Warriors’ new-look starting lineup blitzed New Orleans to start the game, opening on a 17-4 run that included 13 straight points. Green and Durant looked especially engaged. Draymond finished the quarter with two blocks while going 2-2 from deep, as KD dropped 10 points on 4-8 shooting.
Golden State found themselves up 20-8 by the time Kerr made his first substitution at the 5:44 mark. The Warriors extended that lead to 37-24 by the end of the frame, going 15-25 from the field with 12 assists and just a single turnover. They looked just as engaged on the defensive end, holding the Pelicans to 6-21 shooting, with Anthony Davis’ 8 free throws the only source of early offense for the Pelicans
A rare unit with Curry, Draymond and Durant on the bench struggled to open the first half, going -4 in three minutes. Interestingly, Kerr didn’t go back to the death lineup until the final three minutes of the half, with the unit going -2 to enter halftime with a 61-54 lead.
In Game 3, things slipped away for the Warriors at the beginning of the third quarter, when they went -8 in two and a half minutes, after cutting the lead to six by halftime. On Sunday it was the opposite, with the death lineup opening the quarter with a 10-2 burst, pushing the lead to 15. The start propelled the Warriors to a 33-19 third quarter, and what would prove to be an insurmountable 94-73 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
The Warriors will look to punch their ticket to the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday, with a win in Game 5 at Oracle Arena.