In a game without Klay Thompson, Brandon Ingram and Jonathan Kuminga, Stephen Curry made any talent disparity meaningless with another monster game.
Curry dropped his second 40-point game of the season, pouring in 42 in 30 minutes. He sank 15 of his 22 shot attempts, including seven of 13 from behind the arc.
The two-time MVP is averaging 33.5 points through the Warriors’ first four games, a blistering start for any player, let alone one in his 14th season.
Behind Curry, the Warriors (3-1) dominated the Pelicans, coasting to a 130-102 victory with the rotation players watching from the end from the bench. Golden State won all three of its first three road games, bucking last year’s trend of struggling away from the Chase Center.
Here are three takeaways from GSW’s win.
Curry’s feel for the game state
In the NFL, the best quarterbacks take bigger risks when their team falls behind. They feel when to up their aggression levels based on game situations.
Curry has always done the same. Without Thompson or Kuminga, he knew immediately that the Warriors would need another huge game from him.
Instead of getting others involved or easing into the game, Curry was gunning from the start. He scored 16 points in his 10 first-quarter minutes, going 5-for-7 from the field. The rest of his teammates scored 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting.
After a 3 that would’ve been absurd for anyone but Curry, he looked back at Golden State’s bench to hype them up, as if to urge them to match his intensity.
New Orleans inserted Dyson Daniels earlier and more frequently than they may normally would to check Curry, and also threw double teams at Curry off ball screens. That opened up opportunities for his teammates, who eventually broke out of their spell.
But Curry’s sense that the team still needed him to pace their scoring effort was still correct. He started the second half with a triple and another after he made Jordan Hawkins fall after a lethal pump fake.
Then with a big lead to massage after a third-quarter blitz, Curry brought the Warriors home.
As Curry kept the Warriors’ lead at 20, the only reason he remained in the game was for him to get to 40. After toying with a defender with a one-handed between the legs dribble, he stepped into another 3-pointer and buried it, starting the busses with 4:38 left.
The Warriors don’t always need Curry to score 40 points. But he delivered Monday, when they certainly did.
Strong debut for Brandin Podziemski
The biggest question for the rookie out of Santa Clara has always been whether or not he can hold up against tougher competition. The NBA, obviously, represents the biggest test of speed, physicality and talent for the guard.
In his first taste, Podziemski looked more than comfortable — and that was the biggest thing he could prove.
Right after he checked in for his first NBA minutes, Podziemski found Dario Saric for 3 after a drive. Then he pump-faked a 3 in semi transition, took a dribble into the paint and kicked out to Chris Paul for another 3. Both plays showed that the game wasn’t too fast for him and his first step is quick enough to get by NBA defenders.
Podziemski made quick, smart decisions — prerequisites for fitting in with the Warriors. His first career bucket came off a sweet behind-the-back dribble that crumpled his defender.
In his later minutes, Podziemski continued to belong, flicking extra passes and keeping the ball moving. The lefty finished with just five points, but added eight boards and two assists in 22 minutes.
One note: almost every shot the Warriors put up, Podziemski flew in for an offensive rebound opportunity. You typically don’t want your skinny 6-foot-5 guards relentlessly crashing the glass with little chance hauling in the board. On at least one instance, the Warriors’ floor balance was off because of Podziemski’s energy, resulting in a Pelicans bucket on the other end. In the NBA, good effort can be misplaced.
Signature Warriors 3rd quarter
The Warriors didn’t quite look like the Golden Era Warriors on paper, but they played like it in the third quarter.
Golden State finished the third on a 14-1 run, turning a tight game into a 20-point lead. They won the frame 39 to 21.
And while Curry crossed the 30-point threshold during the quarter, he was far from alone in blitzing New Orleans.
Chris Paul drilled an unreal stepback along the baseline in an isolation against Zion Williamson, Trayce Jackson-Davis put together a mini highlight reel and Moses Moody supplied perimeter scoring.
Winning the foul battle helped immensely. Both Williamson and Jones picked up their fourth fouls early in the second half, neutralizing two of NOP’s best players. Williamson’s first bucket of the second half came three minutes into the fourth quarter
Keeping opponents off the foul line is a major priority for Golden State, and their success on that front was a subplot of the third quarter.