NEW ORLEANS _ Undrafted, undersized Tim Frazier, playing for his third team in two seasons, blasted right through Stephen Curry. No other Warrior reacted. Frazier laid it in and trash-talked Curry. The Pelicans, once down double-digits, now led.
This came midway through the third quarter Friday night, 6{ underwhelming quarters into this supposed to be special Warriors season. It was far from panic time, but the red light was beginning to blink. The Warriors needed to show some life.
Curry finally did. Previously slumping and perhaps awoken by some Frazier chirping, Curry jumpstarted Golden State with a personal 8-0 run over the next three possessions, swinging momentum and providing enough leg room for the Warriors first win of the season: 122-114 over the Anthony Davis-led Pelicans in New Orleans.
Curry finished with 22 points and seven assists. Davis followed up his sensational opener with 45 points, 17 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
Curry's spurt started after two Klay Thompson missed 3s. The Warriors rebounded both, which, after getting mashed 55-35 on the glass by San Antonio in the opener, was a needed improvement on Friday night. Both teams finished with 49 rebounds.
Kevon Looney snagged the second Thompson brick and kicked it to an open Curry on the wing. In the first half, the NBA's reigning scoring champ only took five shots, fewer than any first half from a season ago. This was his ninth shot and easiest look. Curry hit it. Golden State went back up two.
Frazier missed a jumper on the other end. Looney rebounded. Curry pushed it upcourt, caught Frazier reaching in the cookie jar and baited him into a shooting foul 28 feet from the hoop. He made two of his three free throws. The lead was four.
Pelicans forward Lance Stephenson committed a brainless offensive foul seconds later, giving the ball right back to Golden State. Curry, now feeling it a bit, shook Langston Galloway, who'd just replaced Frazier, zipped down the lane and, through contact, finished an and-1 layup. He made the free throw. The Warriors, down one three possessions earlier, now led by seven.
They hadn't played very well before that and didn't play very well after that. The energy remains spotty. The passing has been sloppy. The defense was shredded most of the night.
But Curry's burst, plus some steady, sturdy play from Kevin Durant, helped keep the Pelicans at bay. Durant finished with 30 points on 9-of-19 shooting, plus 17 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks.
With 41 seconds left and the Warriors up six, Durant, incredibly, blocked a Davis 3-pointer, ripped the loose ball away, raced upcourt and finished over the towering Davis in transition, essentially sealing the win.
Golden State has plenty of kinks to work out. But the Warriors have their first win in the Durant era.
