Warriors crush Pelicans to make NBA history

Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski and Yaxel Lendeborg combined for 73 points and the Golden State Warriors completed a 6-0 homestand with a 138-87 shellacking of the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night. The win was Golden State’s eighth in a row overall, making the Warriors the first team in NBA history to start a season 0-3 and then run off eight wins in succession. The 51-point margin of victory was the fourth largest in Warriors history and their biggest since beating the Portland Trail Blazers 157-101 on the road in April 2023. New Orleans was playing the second night of a road back-to-back and elected to rest star big man Zion Williamson. Golden State wasted no time taking control of the game. It led by 29-13 in the 10th minute, 35-20 after one quarter, by as many as 35 in the second period and then by 40, 101-61, with 3:13 left in the third quarter. Lendeborg, a rookie, had 16 of his 23 points and Podziemski 15 of his 25 in the first half. Lendeborg shot 8-for-10 for the game, hitting all four of his 3-point attempts while also finding time for seven rebounds. Podziemski had a game-high five 3-pointers in 11 attempts. Curry gave the remaining crowd in a runaway second half something to celebrate when he posted 16 of his 25 points in the third quarter. He hit two of his three 3-point attempts in the period, giving him four in seven tries in the game. Charles Bassey grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to complement 12 points. Fellow reserves De’Anthony Melton and LJ Cryer added 16 and 10 points, respectively, for the Warriors, who shot 54.9% overall and 21-for-44 (47.7%) on 3-pointers. Derik Queen accumulated 16 points to go with three blocks, while Dejounte Murray had 12 points, Jeremiah Fears 11 and Herbert Jones 10 for the Pelicans, who have dropped three in a row. The defeat was just the second in New Orleans history by 50 or more points. Known then as the Hornets, they were crushed 121-63 in a home playoff game against the Denver Nuggets in 2009. Fears also collected a game-high eight assists for New Orleans, which shot just 36.3% overall and 8-for-28 (28.6%) on 3-pointers.