Stephen Curry shines in Game 2 return: 3 takeaways

Stephen Curry looked like Stephen Curry in his return as the Golden State Warriors took Game 2 over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Stephen Curry is back, and now the Warriors can officially begin their drive to repeat as champions. Curry showed minimal rust in his first game since March 23, going for 28 points in the Warriors’ 121-116 Game 2 victory over the Pelicans.

Steve Kerr curiously opted to bring Curry off the bench and stuck with Nick Young in the starting lineup. The Warriors got off to a sluggish start and trailed by eight points before Curry entered the game to a rousing ovation with 4:20 remaining in the first quarter. He immediately knocked down a 3-pointer and flipped the game back in Golden State’s direction.

While Curry was terrific for most of the night, Kevin Durant struggled for three quarters and Klay Thompson had a disastrous 4-of-20 shooting performance, which helped the Pelicans stick around. New Orleans trailed by three points when Kerr went to the Hamptons 5 with just under three minutes to play.

Then it was curtains.

The Warriors’ killer lineup effectively ended the game with a 9-0 run thanks to a crazy Andre Iguodala and-1 dunk and Durant finally coming alive. KD scored 15 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter.

The Pelicans made one last gasp after a Curry dagger with just under two minutes to play, but there was little real drama at the end and it’s 2-0 with the Warriors heading to New Orleans.

Takeaways

Curry’s presence was enormous. If you want to boil this game down to something really simple, it’s this: The Warriors were plus-26 with Curry on the court and minus-21 with him on the bench. Golden State has always performed much better with Curry on the court, but this game was especially noticeable.

With Swaggy P ineffective again and Thompson suffering through a nightmarish shooting night, Curry’s impact was as important as ever. He showed almost no ill effects from his knee injury and was an efficient 8-of-15 from the field and 5-of-10 from 3. He was hitting crazy triples immediately upon arrival:

Curry’s ability to bend defenses and pull from anywhere is a huge part of the Warriors’ offensive brilliance. Though they didn’t have their best shooting night, the Dubs still racked up 36 assists on 43 baskets. Curry and Co. did have some sloppy turnovers, which is par for the course, but overall it was an outstanding return for the two-time MVP.

Draymond Green was his loud, impactful self. Green was brilliant in Game 1, and he followed that up with another terrific all-around performance. He just missed another triple-double with 20 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds in 41 minutes. He hit two huge 3-pointers to start the fourth quarter to give the Warriors some momentary separation. He defended well and had several impressive sequences against Anthony Davis.

And, of course, Green’s brashness was on full display. He was yapping and barking throughout the night, with several Pelicans the target of his trash-talking. He got into a faux wrestling match with Davis at one point and got into it with Rajon Rondo going into halftime:

This was a classic Draymond game, and the Warriors needed that spark.

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The Pelicans showed a ton of fight. The Pelicans put forth one heck of an effort to stick around for most of the game. There were several times where it looked like they were about to get blown out, but there was never any quit. The final surge in the fourth quarter, as hopeless as it was, summed up the effort well.

New Orleans didn’t back away from its style and pushed the pace as much as possible against a Warriors team that thrives in chaos. The Pelicans got a lot of easy baskets because of it, racking up 66 points in the paint and 39 fastbreak points. They matched the Dubs in 3-pointers with 13. All five starters scored in double figures, with Davis’ 25 leading the way. Jrue Holiday was awesome with 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while Rondo had 22 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and five steals. Rondo even cashed three of his four 3-point attempts as the Warriors consistently left him along beyond the arc.

However, New Orleans couldn’t overcome the Curry factor and a huge disparity at the free-throw line. Despite a massive advantage on shots in the paint, the Pelicans shot only nine free throws to Golden State’s 27. The Pelicans will have to hope they get a more favorable whistle at home in New Orleans for Friday’s Game 3.