By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Golden State Warriors banked on a flawless second-half performance to frustrate the visiting New Orleans Pelicans, 124-106, during their Western Conference clash in the ongoing NBA regular season on October 30, 2024.
Down by as much as 20 points in the first half, the Warriors received heroic outings from their players in the last two frames led by Buddy Hield who went unconscious in the fourth, dropping 19 of his 28 points when Golden State pulled away for good.
Hield’s silent first-half performance fueled him for another impressive second-half outing, torching New Orleans with seven three-pointers and finished on an efficient 9/18 from the field.
The Golden State splash party began when Brandin Podziemski equalized the ball game in the third with a three-pointer, followed by a barrage of points from Hield who picked up his rhythm in the final five minutes of the quarter.
After recalibrating his stroke, the veteran sniper took over in the fourth and single-handedly outscored the Pelicans in the first nine minutes of the final canto.
New Orleans went off to the races in the first period when they ended the quarter on a 31-14 burst, but the Warriors responded with a better defensive outing to trim their deficit to single digits at the end of the half.
Defense became the key to Golden State’s comeback in the second half as they tallied a total of 15 steals and held New Orleans to an inefficient shooting from the perimeter, their bread and butter during their dominant first-quarter outing.
Key contributors were aplenty for Golden State as Lindy Waters, Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, and Podziemski backstopped Hield in the offensive department.
Waters, who played his most minutes with the Warriors against New Orleans, gained the trust of Steve Kerr and the rest of the coaching staff after dropping 21 markers, eight rebounds, four assists, and a steal.
Kuminga also fortified the Warriors bench when he was moved into the second unit and scattered 17 points in just 28 minutes of playing time alongside three rebounds, three dimes, two interceptions, and a block.
On the other hand, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson combined for 62 points, but New Orleans needed more help as star shooting guard CJ McCollum only finished with five markers, his worst shooting performance of the season so far.
