SAN FRANCISCO — Even without two of their best players, the Warriors are finally starting to look like serious playoff contenders.
After months of sputtering and hovering around .500, the Golden State Warriors have managed to snap out of their middling funk, capping off a five-game homestand Friday night with a 108-99 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Golden State, riding its second five-game win streak of the season into a three-game road trip, is fun again. The Warriors are playing winning basketball, letting their defense fuel their offense, with Stephen Curry’s return from a leg injury imminent.
For the second consecutive game, the Warriors held their opponents below 100 points.
CJ McCollum tied the game at 89 with just under seven minutes left in the game. The Pelicans would go up by four.
But the Warriors battled back before shooing the Pelicans away for good.
Klay Thompson and Donte DiVincenzo hit back-to-back 3s within less than a minute of each other to send the Chase Center crowd onto their feet and put the home team up by a small advantage.
Moments later, DiVincenzo would swoop in to grab the offensive rebound, he then passed it to Jonathan Kuminga who soared to the basket and threw down another ferocious, rim-rattling dunk. The basket gave the Warriors’ a four-point lead, which they would build up to nine by the final horn.
The Warriors, playing on the second night of a back-to-back, might’ve looked sluggish and out of sync at the start. The Pelicans pulled ahead by as many as 17 points, but the Warriors warmed up and the visitors cooled off as the game went on.
Six Warriors players finished with 10 or more points. Thompson led the team with 27 points and Kuminga added 19 on 9 of 13 shooting off the bench. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Kevon Looney had 11 boards and 10 points.
The Warriors will open a three-game road trip Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
