New Orleans Pelicans comeback attampt falls short in Game One against Golden State Warriors 106-99

It was the first playoff game for the New Orleans Pelicans since 2011.

The jitters showed against the best team in the NBA during the regular season.

The Golden State Warriors went on an offensive clinic and the Pelicans could not answer even after a valiant comeback attempt in the fourth quarter as they lost Game One on the road 106-99. It was tough sledding from the get-go, as the Warriors put the hammer down on the defensive end, holding the Pelicans to just 13 first quarter points. From there, the Warriors kept firing the whole game, finishing the game shooting 45.7% from the field and 37.9% from behind the three-point line.

The Pelicans came back after being down 21 at the end of the third quarter to make it close, yet couldn’t finish the deal. Anthony Davis had a ridiculous game, putting up 35 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. The Warriors were led by the MVP favorite Stephen Curry, who finished with 34 points, 20 of those in the fourth quarter alone, alone with five assists and three steals.

Other Observations:

• Before saying anything else…let’s enjoy the fact we’re finally seeing this team in the playoffs. It took a massive amount of effort for the Pelicans to even get in this position. They had to fight tooth and nail to get past very difficult games to be in the postseason. The Warriors are one of the best teams in the history of the recent NBA through the regular season. It’s about fighting and trying to earn wins against the best of the league. It’s a young team without a lot of playoff experience. Just temper expectations with them. It’ll take time.
• The Pelicans are really going to need to shore up the defense inside. The Warriors put up 50 points in the paint on the night. A lot of those were on missed rotations inside on backdoor cuts or off screens. It had to be tough for them to communicate on defense with the noise of the arena, but it has to be there if New Orleans wants to be able to rotate in position to hold off wide open looks for the Warriors, whether it’s in the paint or off three-pointers, which the Warriors made 11 of those.
• The biggest strengths of the Pelicans tonight were the times they attacked the paint and drew fouls inside. The Pelicans went to the line for 25 free throws, making 20 of them. When the Pelicans found ways to get past their initial man and attack the paint, they got to the free-throw line and got a good portion of free points. While at times they need to be in more control of the ball, as they were forced into 14 turnovers on the night, too many against a team that is lethal in transition.
• The biggest surprise of the night was the success of the Pelicans bench winning the battle of the reserves. The New Orleans Pelicans bench outscored the Warriors bench 25 to 12. The Pelicans did go deeper in minutes with their bench, but it seemed guys like Norris Cole and Jrue Holiday found better ways to get on the scoreboard than the guys the Warriors subbed into the game. That production will need to keep up if the Pelicans want to recover in this series.
• Speaking of recovering, Game Two will be Monday at 9:30 PM CST on TNT. The Pelicans will look to even the series before they head back to New Orleans.

Tweet(s) of the Night: