What we learned as Draymond shuts down Zion in Warriors' win

What we learned as Draymond shuts down Zion in Warriors’ win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — Buddy Hield shook off a sluggish start and scored 21 points as part of Golden State’s balanced offense that put six players in double figures during Wednesday’s 104-89 win over the New Orleans Pelicans at Chase Center.

Hield missed five of his first six shots before finding his rhythm and leading the Dubs to their second win in two nights against the Pelicans, who were without Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones and CJ McCollum on Wednesday.

Draymond Green added 14 points with three 3-pointers and six assists while holding Pelicans forward Zion Williamson to just 5-of-20 shooting with some lock-down defense.

Jonathan Kuminga scored 16 while coming off the bench again, Kyle Anderson had 10 and Brandin Podziemski put up 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists shortly after the Warriors announced that they were picking up the option year on his contract.

Things could be getting better soon, too.

Injured star Stephen Curry is expected to re-evaluated on Friday for his ankle injury. Andrew Wiggins, who also has missed the last two games, worked out before Tuesday’s game and is getting closer to coming back.

Golden State more than held the fort with the two starters out. In the two games against a similarly shorthanded New Orleans team, the Warriors outscored the Pelicans 124-106.

The Warriors, who had gotten off to slow starts in each of their first four games, were much more crisp and efficient in the first half Tuesday.

Green scored eight points in the first half while Kyle Anderson connected on all three of his shot attempts to help Golden State build a 12-point advantage. Hield then nailed a 26-foot 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to put the Warriors ahead 48-45.

After Hield and Jackson-Davis combined for 15 points in the third quarter to extend the Warriors’ lead to 79-66, Golden State withstood a minor run and held on for the victory.

The Warriors now face a five-game road trip with stops in Houston, Washington, Boston, Cleveland and Oklahoma City.

Here are the takeaways from Wednesday’s game:

Lindy’s First Start

Waters had a big game Tuesday, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr rewarded him with a start on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old shooting guard wasn’t as active on the offensive end as he was 24 hours earlier, scoring three points on 1-for-5 shooting to go with three assists.

It was just the second start of Waters’ career, the other coming during his rookie season in 2022 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

More Smoothness from TJD

Jackson-Davis has looked a lot more comfortable and at ease with his role in Kerr’s offense and showed again why he’s one of the Warriors’ more promising young players.

TJD, who didn’t miss a shot in Golden State’s first two games (11-for-11), flirted with perfection again and finished 7 of 9 and had two assists.

Kerr’s Key Challenge

Kerr has been quite successful this season on challenging calls, having gotten four calls against his team overturned. All of them have involved Green, and none was bigger than Kerr’s coaching challenge on Wednesday.

Green was whistled for a foul when he tried to block a shot by Williamson with 1:13 remaining in the second quarter. Green – who already had two fouls – immediately signaled for Kerr to challenge the call, and after a few moments, the Warriors coach asked for a replay and got the call overturned.

Had Kerr not challenged, he likely would have had to limit Green’s playing time in the second half.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast