© Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Just as you’d expect in a game without Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors coasted to a relatively easy win over the New Orleans Pelicans… who were also without Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram. It was a battle of depth, which Golden State won, barely, 125-122.
Jordan Poole twists ankle, shockingly returns to break career high
It was building up to be such a positive game for the Warriors’ backups. And it ultimately was, but for a moment, there was a very real scare. Jordan Poole, who had 24 first-half points, seemed to sprain his ankle, or at least twist it significantly. He left the game and headed to the locker room under his own power, but it seemed exceedingly unlikely that he would return.
Jordan Poole was grabbing his left ankle after twisting it while going for a rebound pic.twitter.com/cBfgR6k8Ma
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 15, 2021
… And then he returned. It was one of the more bizarre moments of this season. Poole went from potentially out for more than just this game to healthy.
Very quickly, he was back to his old self. And just as quickly, he surpassed his career high of 26 points. The fact that he not only returned, but remained aggressive and dominant, was pretty stunning.
By the end of it, through a combination of dribble drives, layups, floaters, stepbacks and catch-and-shoot threes, Poole finished with a new career high of 38 points (12-of-22, 4-of-9) 4 rebounds, 6 assists.
A new career high in points for JP ? pic.twitter.com/xPxqno1GfE
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 15, 2021
Oh, and Mychal Mulder set his career high, too
The fun thing about these bizarre bench games is that you get to see what non-starters can do with starters minutes. You absolutely have to take into consideration that it’s against lesser competition and in an inconsequential game, but those are precisely the games that bench players need to take advantage of.
Mychal Mulder sure as hell took advantage of that opportunity. He looked very confident in his stroke, and excelled not just as a spot up shooter, but in situations where he caught, faked, dribbled and pulled up.
Clearly compelled to keep up with Poole (or not, I don’t know what he’s thinking), Mulder set his own career high, which he set earlier this season at 26 points and nearly broke last week with 25. He pushed it over a new threshold on Friday night, finishing with 28 points (10-of-17, 7-of-13) plus a couple rebounds, and a steal, block and assist.
An ice cold stretch to end it, but who cares
Starting with six minutes to go, the Warriors went ice cold, failing to score for five-straight minutes. Seriously. Poole made an 11-foot floater with 5:43 remaining, and they failed to score again until there were 33 seconds remaining. And that score came off a missed shot from Nico Mannion, which Eric Paschall tipped in.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who had 30 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and a block, responded with a drive to give New Orleans a one-point, 122-121 lead.
But it was Poole’s night. He came right back with an aggressive drive of his own, ripping through to the rim and giving the Warriors a 123-122 lead with 21 seconds remaining. The Pelicans couldn’t respond with another score of their own, and a hilarious, impressive effort from Kent Bazemore to save the rebound sealed it.
It was almost what you’d expect from a game which was being played by almost entirely young and definitely inexperienced role players. It was sloppy, but somehow compelling in its chaos. Like middle schoolers at a bar mitzvah.
It provided us with moments like Alen Smailagic, who missed his first four shots and looked mostly out of his depth, hitting a three and following it up with a post move and score.
Smiley for three ? pic.twitter.com/cgAvdAQbV1
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 15, 2021
There were great contributions, too, from the regulars, like Kent Bazemore (14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 4 rebounds, one assist and a couple steals), Juan Toscano-Anderson (with the triple-niner of 9 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists), Kevon Looney (7 points and 8 rebounds), and the just-returned Eric Paschall, who hadn’t played since April 2 and had key buckets (12 points, 4 rebounds).
The win doesn’t have any consequences, but it did provide meaningful minutes for players in need of them, and rested the starters. It’s also a fifth-straight win, and sets up a season finale at home with the Memphis Grizzlies to decide who finishes eighth and who finishes ninth.