Warriors repel Pelicans’ challenge, take 2-0 series lead

OAKLAND — The Warriors heard New Orleans challenge their home-court advantage with pregame comments and then were tested by the Pelicans’ willingness to hang in a hostile environment.

Undeterred, the Warriors stood tall in the face of an upset bid and clawed out a 97-87 win against the Pelicans at Oracle Arena on Monday to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.

Klay Thompson scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half, and Stephen Curry added 22 points to lead the top-seeded Warriors, who also got key contributions from their celebrated second unit.

Draymond Green, playing on a left ankle he twice tweaked in the game, had 14 points, 12 rebounds and five assists while getting key stops on defense.

Pelicans star Anthony Davis scored 26 points but was 0 for 5 from the field in the fourth quarter while being held to six free throws.

“It’s a lot to ask, but we feel like that’s the identity of our team is our defense and our versatility at that end,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought Draymond was just fantastic. (Andrew) Bogut fantastic, and the defense carried the day.”

Before the game at the Pelicans’ shootaround, coach Monty Williams raised some eyebrows with comments questioning whether or not the noise level at Oracle Arena was legal and complained that it “does get a little out of hand.”

Williams said he meant it as a compliment. The crowd didn’t take it that way, roaring so loudly during the Pelicans’ pregame introductions that the public address announcer could hardly be heard.

“Monty should have never said that, so we knew the (fans) were going to come in with a lot of energy,” the Warriors’ Marreese Speights said.

They had plenty to cheer about late in the game, as while Davis kept missing, the Warriors went on a 10-0 run to finish off the Pelicans.

“Down the stretch, there were times where we tried to push it, and we got a stop and we turned it over, then they rammed it right back down our throat,” Williams said.

Eric Gordon added 23 points for New Orleans, which led at one point by 13 points. But in the end, the Warriors were too much at home, where they were 39-2 in the regular season.

Leandro Barbosa added 12 points off the bench, and Speights had five points and two blocks to get the Warriors going on a night when they shot only 44.2 percent from the field.

“It’s win or go home,” Curry said. “So the grind-it-out kind of feel of these games here, you expect it’s going to be the exact same thing if not tougher in New Orleans.”

The Warriors despite the raucous crowd came out and struggled in the first quarter, falling behind 28-17.

Cold shooting combined with six early turnovers plagued the Warriors, who shot 31.8 percent from the field in the quarter, including 3 for 10 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, Gordon drained each of his three attempts from long distance and kept momentarily silencing the arena.

It was the bench that brought the Warriors life. The second unit along with Green on the court scored on five of its first six possessions in the second quarter.

Speights buried two jump shots and then assisted on Andre Iguodala’s 3-pointer that capped an 11-4 run to cut the deficit to 32-28. Speights’ instant offense came after he had played in only 41 seconds of the Warriors’ Game 1 win, with the ability to stay ready despite sporadic playing time endearing him to Kerr all season long.

Barbosa also provided a spark with his driving layup and 3-point play, as he became the first Warriors player of the evening to reach the double-digit scoring mark.

The Pelicans held the Warriors at bay with backup point guard Norris Cole catching fire and scoring New Orleans’ first nine points of the quarter. The strong guard play was needed with the Pelicans missing Jrue Holiday, who was unable to play because of lower right leg soreness stemming from months of recovery from a stress reaction.

However, Thompson after scuffling in Game 1 got going with back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the score at 47.

Curry’s third 3-pointer came on the Warriors’ final possession of the half, giving them a 55-52 lead headed into the locker room. He came off the floor clapping with 16 points, knowing that even after the Pelicans had thrown the first punch, the crowd was roaring again.

For more on the Warriors, see the Inside the Warriors blog at www.ibabuzz.com/warriors. Follow Diamond Leung on Twitter at twitter.com/diamond83.