Warriors to end five-game road trip at New Orleans (Dec 13, 2016)
NEW ORLEANS --The Golden State Warriors have been deadly efficient during the last three seasons, and the odds are they will prove it again Tuesday night as they close out a five-game road trip over seven nights against the feisty but undermanned New Orleans Pelicans.
The 21-4 Warriors extended an incredible streak on Sunday night, coming back from 10 points down in the final quarter to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-108. The Warriors have gone 111 games without losing consecutive regular-season contests.
The Warriors' all-time NBA record is 16 games better than the next-longest streak set by Utah in 1997-98 during the glory days of Karl Malone and John Stockton.
"It's really one of the most impressive streaks that I've ever seen, to have gone that long," Golden State coach Steve Kerr said after the comeback win over Minnesota. "That's a lot of games. The schedule catches up to you often in this league, and it's kind of catching up to us right now. (This) was four (games) in five nights, and it will be five in seven after New Orleans."
Kerr didn't have much to fret about in the fourth quarter against Minnesota. The Warriors somehow summoned the energy to outscore the Wolves 38-20, with Klay Thompson scoring 14 of his game-high 30 points in the final 12 minutes.
"(It's been) a lot of travel," Kerr said. "We didn't have great energy, but you can see the resilience in the fourth quarter and the way our guys came up with five or six straight stops to start the quarter, which was huge in changing the momentum."
Added Thompson: "Twelve minutes is a long time for this team."
The Warriors already have beaten the Pelicans twice this season, but the games have been surprisingly close. They defeated New Orleans 122-114 on the road Oct. 28, despite 45 points by Pelicans forward Anthony Davis.
Ten days later in Oakland, Golden State won 116-106 in one of the greatest stage performances of Stephen Curry's young career. Curry poured in 46 points, setting the NBA record for most made 3-pointers (13) in a single game. His record flurry came one game after he had gone 0 of 10 from behind the arc.
The 8-17 Pelicans had lost five straight and had been 1-3 in overtime games before outlasting the Phoenix Suns 120-119 on the road Sunday night. It was the first game back for Davis, averaging a league-high 38 minutes a game, after being rested on Saturday night in a loss to the LA Clippers.
But Davis was far from the story. Point guard Tim Frazier recorded the first triple double of his career (14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists) to snap the Pelicans' ugly losing streak, which included a double-overtime home loss to Philadelphia, which had lost 23 consecutive road games.
"It feels good," Frazier said of his triple double. "I had a couple of them in the D-League, but it feels good to get one in the NBA, just to say I did it."
Frazier also recorded five steals against the Suns.
"You've got to understand -- he's just a tough kid," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said. "We ask him to do a lot of things. We ask him to do things that All-Star guards do, and he never says anything. He just goes out and gives us the effort."
The victory also marked the return of point guard Jrue Holiday from a three-game absence due to a turf toe. Holiday, who scored a game-high 23 points, is expected to play Tuesday night against the Warriors. Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans (knee, calf) is getting closer to returning but has not played this season.
