Andrew Wiggins poured in a season-best 30 points, Stephen Curry added 19 and the Golden State Warriors clinched no worse than a tie for first place in West Group C of the NBA Cup with a 112-108 road victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.
Draymond Green chipped in with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Warriors, who improved to 3-0 in tournament play with just one round-robin game remaining on Dec. 3 at Denver.
Trey Murphy III went for a season-best 24 points and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl compiled a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double off the bench for the Pelicans, who fell to 1-2 in Cup play.
In a game in which neither team led by more than 10, the Pelicans closed within 102-99 on a Brandon Boston Jr. 3-pointer with 3:17 remaining. Curry countered with a backdoor layup off a Green feed, and when Wiggins dropped in a pair of free throws with 1:59 to go, suddenly the Golden State lead was seven again.
But the Pelicans weren’t done. Murphy drilled a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch, including one with 14 seconds remaining that closed the gap to 110-108. Boston then stole a Green pass, giving New Orleans a chance to tie or go ahead, but Murphy misfired from 30 feet and Green closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws.
Wiggins, whose point total was one higher than his previous season-best, hit 9 of 14 shots and all nine of his free throw attempts en route to his third straight 20-point performance.
Curry had seven rebounds and a team-high seven assists, while Trayce Jackson-Davis grabbed a team-high-tying eight rebounds to go with nine points. Buddy Hield contributed 12 points and Brandin Podziemski scored 11 for the Warriors, who improved to 7-2 on the road this season.
Playing just his fifth game after opening the season with a hamstring injury, Murphy connected on 5-of-9 3-point attempts. Both teams made 12 threes in the contest.
Brandon Ingram had 18 points, Boston added 16 and Javonte Green tallied 15 for the Pelicans, who lost their fourth straight and are 1-10 since a 3-3 start. Both Ingram and Boston matched Curry’s game-high seven assists.
Golden State led 87-84 entering the fourth quarter after trailing 63-62 coming out of halftime.