Stephen Curry has made a successful return from injury on Friday in New Orleans, though the Golden State Warriors took their time in taking control against the Pelicans in a 111-95 victory at Smoothie King Center.
After missing two games due to a pelvic contusion, Curry was part of a sluggish Warrior opening unit that quickly found themselves down 14-2 against a team missing arguably their best five players.
The Warriors eventually came through in the fourth-quarter on Friday
Golden State battled back into the game by the end of the first period, but still found themselves in an awkward situation up by just one entering the fourth-quarter. The Warriors put the clamps on their less talented opposition in the final 12 minutes though, keeping the Pelicans to just 13 points to make things far more comfortable down the final stretch.
Curry wasn't overly efficient in shooting just 7-of-21 from the floor and 5-of-16 from 3-point range, but otherwise looked good in his return. The 2x MVP had a game-high 23 points to go with four rebounds, six assists and three steals, playing 34 minutes in a good sign of his injury recovery.
Jimmy Butler added another double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, but in what was a shared scoring display from a team perspective, it was Jonathan Kuminga's bounce-back performance that may have been the biggest individual factor for Golden State to take forward.
Kuminga had 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes off the bench, shooting 5-of-9 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. It was a good night for the 22-year-old whose form and role has been a big talking point, but the Warriors will be slightly anxious about Kuminga's health after banging knees with Pelicans center Yves Missi in the final minutes.
Quinten Post was free to fire away from deep with nine 3-point attempts in his 17 minutes off the bench, with the rookie center adding 15 points, six rebounds and two assists. Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield were the final two double-digit scorers for Golden State, though the team shot just 41.3% from the floor and 23.6% from three in what was a rugged offensive performance.
Draymond Green added to his DPOY case by adding two steals and a block while finishing as a game-high +16, but the veteran forward did foul out late in the game as the Warriors closed out what was an important but far from perfect win.
The Warriors remain seventh in the Western Conference standings ahead of the fourth of their six-game road-trip against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
