Warriors pull away after halftime, close out Pelicans
Kevin Durant had three hoops while teammate Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry added one apiece in a 10-point flurry that opened the second half and broke open a close game Tuesday night, lifting the Golden State Warriors to a 113-104 triumph over the New Orleans Pelicans in Oakland, Calif., and a 4-1 victory in their Western Conference semifinal series.
A second consecutive five-game series win vaults the defending champion and second-seeded Warriors up against the top-seeded Rockets in the Western Conference finals, a best-of-seven set that tips off Monday night in Houston.
Curry had 28 points, Durant 24 and Thompson 23 for the Warriors, whose 15th straight home playoff win tied the NBA record set by the Chicago Bulls from 1990-91.
Anthony Davis had his fifth double-double in the series with 34 points and 19 rebounds for the Pelicans, who have never advanced past the conference semifinals in their history.
The Warriors led just 59-56 at halftime before hitting their first five shots of the third quarter to extend the margin to 13.
With Curry sinking a pair of 3-pointers and five free throws, three after having been fouled on a 3-point attempt, Golden State then ran off 19 of the next 25 points to open an 88-62 lead.
The Pelicans used a late 18-2 spurt to get within 107-100 with 2:01 to play, but Draymond Green hit a short turnaround jumper off an inbounds play, stalling the rally.
Curry, playing for just the fourth time in the series after having missed the first round against the San Antonio Spurs and Game 1 against the Pelicans with a knee injury, connected on 10 of 16 field-goal attempts and 3 of 6 3-point tries en route to his team-high point total.
The Warriors won despite getting outscored 30-21 on 3-pointers.
Green contributed a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double for the Warriors, who have won 24 of their past 27 playoff games. Green also had a team-high nine assists.
Davis hit 13 of his 26 shots en route to his game-high point tally. He also blocked four shots.
Jrue Holiday chipped in with a 27-point, 10-rebound, 11-assist triple-double for the sixth-seeded Pelicans, who had swept the third-seeded Portland Trail Blazers in the first round.
Nikola Mirotic had 12 points and E'Twaun Moore 10 for New Orleans, which has lost 28 of its past 31 games against Golden State.
--Field Level Media
