Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
There were peeks of the Warriors of old – Stephen Curry flinging shots up from Bourbon Street that somehow wound up falling through the net.
Draymond Green throwing up his patented flex, showing off the power inherent in his game but also the passing penchant that so few have en route to his season’s first triple-double.
And then peeks of the Warriors they will need to become — Damion Lee could not miss, coming off the bench to become the crucial extra scorer they need, going 8-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-6 from 3 to finish with 23 points.
Jordan Poole entered the starting mix and performed. Omari Spellman made countless hustle plays, the role players actually finding their roles, the Warriors out-rebounding the Pelicans, 61-41.
The peeks turned into a very early peak for the Warriors, who not only grabbed their first lead of the young year – 2-0, thanks to a Green bucket – but got their first win and rout, dominating the Pelicans from start to finish at the Smoothie King Center, 134-123, as the team’s dispiriting start to the season found its outlet. The game was not that close; the Warriors had a 29-point lead that was dented by a 44-point Pelicans fourth.
Curry (26 points, plus-32) was the leader, always the focal point within a flowing offense. But Green (16 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists) was the most important Warrior on this night, his first triple-double of the year coming a game after he told reporters the Warriors “fucking suck right now.”
“Right now” did not last long.
It was different from the outset, Golden State jumping out to a 10-3 lead before New Orleans’ first timeout. Poole was the difference-maker in the early going, nailing three first-quarter 3s that may make Steve Kerr decide this rotation tweak will last.
Spellman was active, diving on the floor to keep a possession alive that finished with a Curry 3; streaking down the court and finishing a missed D’Angelo Russell 3 with a thunderous dunk.
Russell himself was uneven but came alive late. When Curry picked up two first-quarter fouls, he was stapled to the bench and it became the D’Angelo Show. There was a lot of standing around and even more bricks, the former Net going 2-for-8 and 1-for-5 from 3 in the first.
But when Curry picked up his fourth foul with 6:09 in the third and the Warriors up 84-64, Russell allowed Green into the Show and the Warriors went on a run that Curry loved from the bench.
Green knocked in a pair of free throws. Russell dribbled his way around the defense for a couple consecutive layups. Lee hit a 3-pointer and Russell found Eric Paschall cutting to the hoop for a dunk and a 95-70 lead, the Warriors removing their franchise player from the floor and actually extending the lead. Russell finished with 24 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
A must-win game does not exist for a team in its third game of the season. But 1-2 is much less stressful than 0-3, and if the Warriors have returned to earth this season, they are at least getting their footing again.
Jacob Evans, who went to high school in Baton Rouge, left the game with an abductor strain and did not return.