It was a highly anticipated game for the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, as they announced earlier this week that Kevin Durant would be back in the lineup for the game against the New Orleans Pelicans. It was a packed Oracle Arena once again with 20 thousand fans in the building ready to see the former MVP back on the court again. Durant suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain and tibial bone bruise five weeks ago in a game against the Washington Wizards.
No Durant -- no problem
The Warriors played 19 games without Kevin Durant in the lineup, and won 15 of those games (including 13 in a row).
They showed no weaknesses in Durant's absence and looked like a team ready to compete for a championship this year. With Durant out it was Stephen Curry who led this team to 13 straight wins. In his last 10 games Curry is averaging 28.1 points and 9.2 assists. He scored 42 points on the road against Phoenix on Wednesday night. Curry missed Saturday's game against the Pelicans with a bruised left knee.
Short-handed Pelicans had no chance of winning
New Orleans was also short-handed on Saturday night. They were playing without their all-star frontcourt players -- DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis. Cousins was out due to right Achilles tendinitis while Davis missed this game because of left knee soreness.
Being undermanned the Pelicans had no chance in this game. They were down 8 points at halftime (54-46) but by the end of the third quarter (93-68) it was already a blowout. The final score was 123-101 for the home team that won its 14th game in a row. This was the Pelicans' seventh straight loss to the Warriors and their ninth straight at Oracle Arena.
In his first game back after the injury, Kevin Durant had 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. He shot 6-15 from the field and couldn't hit a three-pointer as he missed all four of his attempts. After the game he adressed the media: "It felt good, I was excited. It was a good team win. I missed some shots that I feel like I normally make but I just tried to play the right way."
Klay Thompson led the Warriors in scoring with 20 points.
Golden State had seven players with at least 10 points in this game. Javale McGee finished with 16 points and seven rebounds while Andre Iguodala added 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. The Warriors remain the number one seed in the Western Conference and they will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Quinn Cook scored 22 points for the Pelicans, and Jordan Crawford added 21.
