Andrew Wiggins scored 21 points. Kuminga scored 13 and Damion Lee added 12 for the Warriors, which dropped its second straight.
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Brandon Ingram broke out of a shooting slump with 32 points and the New Orleans Pelicans snapped a three-game skid with a 101-96 victory over the depleted Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.
”You could tell from the start of the game that he was playing at a different pace,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said of Ingram, who made 12 of 20 shots after hitting just 8 of 36 in his previous two games back from a sore Achilles. ”He was aggressive, and he had intention. He knew where he wanted to get, and he got to his spots and jumped up and shot the ball. He got to the free throw line. It just took him a couple games to get back in rhythm.”
Warriors’ leading scorer Stephen Curry was ruled out after hurting his left quad during a loss a night earlier in Dallas. Also held out was veteran leader and leading rebounder Draymond Green because of a sore hip.
Final stat leaders from tonight’s win!@B_Ingram13 32 pts, 11 reb, 6 ast, 12/20 FGM@joshhart 14 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast@_hoopinglife 13 pts, 6 reb, 5 stl, 2 ast@JValanciunas 8 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk#WBD | @FDSportsbook pic.twitter.com/VTaJAZwYUa
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 7, 2022
Meanwhile, both teams apparently were missing their 3-point shooting range, combining to miss 52 shots from deep. The Pelicans appeared to have the game in hand when they led 94-84 on rookie Herb Jones’ layup with 1:27 to go. Then they nearly self-destructed.
Golden State guard Jordan Poole hit a layup, and after New Orleans’ Gary Clark had Jones’ pass slip off his hands and out of bounds, Poole quickly hit a 30-foot 3. The Warriors then stole the ball from guard Devonte’ Graham in the back court and Jonathan Kuminga hit a layup to make it 94-91 with 51.5 seconds remaining.
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After that, the Pelicans hit seven of eight free throws to hold on, with Ingram and Jones each hitting two and Josh Hart making three.
”Being short-handed gives the young guys a good chance to play and experience a pressure-filled game on the road,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. ”I am proud of the team fighting all the way through, giving themselves a chance at the end. Just didn’t have enough, and the ball didn’t go in enough.”
While Ingram is a former All-Star and established scorer, he said his brief recent shooting slump – which occurred during two Pelicans losses – still bothered him.
”It takes a toll on me throughout the day and the next day until we can get back on the floor,” Ingram said. ”Today was definitely a good night for me. My body felt good. I felt good going to the rim. I had a rhythm. I had a good touch to my shot.”
Jones, a second-round draft choice out of Alabama who is quickly becoming a constant in the starting lineup, finished with 13 points and a career-high five steals.
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”He’s tremendous. Herb Jones is a ferocious defender, and he’s just becoming a more sound basketball player as we progress,” Green said. ”I’ve been saying it all year, but we are excited to have him on our team and excited to see what he’s doing for us.”
Hart scored 14 points and Clark had 10, hitting three of four 3-pointers. Jonas Valanciunas grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked two shots.
Andrew Wiggins scored 21 points. Kuminga scored 13 and Damion Lee added 12 for Golden State, which dropped its second straight. The Warriors led most of the first half, going up by 11 thanks to a mini-run by Kuminga. After he hit a free throw, he added a put-back and soon after finished a fast break by flushing Iguodala’s alley-oop lob across the lane, making it 27-16. Ingram checked back in soon after and scored 13 points in the final 6:31 of the half to help the Pelicans go into the break with a 47-46 lead.
