NBA Recap New Orleans Pelicans vs Golden State Warriors | October 27, 2015 | Highlights
I do not own anything on this video. No
Copyright Infringement Is Intended. I don't take credits anything from this video. Any Audiovisual content on this video is not owned by me and is owned by
NBA.
All rights reserved to NBA.
Visit their Website at www.nba.com
OAKLAND,
Calif. (AP)
Stephen Curry threw his arm in the air in delight and body bumped teammates after knocking down shots from all over the floor, and it all looked so familiar to what happened here only four months ago.
The NBA MVP showed in a hurry he hasn't lost a step or his swagger, scoring 40 points to lead the
Golden State Warriors to a 111-95 victory over the
New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night to open their title defense.
Curry put on a shooting clinic, hitting seven of his first nine shots with four
3-pointers for 24 first-quarter points. He finished 14 for 26 with seven assists and six rebounds in a rematch of the first round of the playoffs that
Golden State swept 4-0. It was his 10th career 40-point game.
Curry and the
Warriors raised the championship banner and received their rings in an elaborate pregame ceremony featuring glitz, glow sticks and fire.
Coach Steve Kerr attended, then left for the locker room to rest his surgically repaired back as interim
Luke Walton coached the team and received some advice from
Kerr beforehand.
"Even just
Game 1 of the finals it was just a different feeling," Curry said. "
All that really prepared us to be able to stay in the moment, enjoy the celebration and the ceremony, have fun, joke, dance, all that stuff, but then lock in and focus on the game. It would be disappointing to leave out of here
0-1 with a ring as opposed to
1-0. The mood is a lot better and we want to keep that vibe going."
First-year
New Orleans coach
Alvin Gentry took part in the festivities and received a rousing ovation, as he was Golden State's associate head coach before departing for the
Big Easy.
Kerr said beforehand he isn't sure when he will be back on the bench but plans to go on the team's weekend road trip to
Houston and New Orleans.
"
It's killing me not to be out there tonight," he said. "
I've got to be patient and that's probably not my greatest virtue right now."
Golden State built a 10-point halftime lead and was never threatened the rest of the way to win its 19th straight home game dating to Jan. 31 and match the franchise record set last season.
Anthony Davis, who averaged 29.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in two games against Golden State last season, shot 4 for 20 and scored 10 of his 18 points on free throws. In his
Pelicans debut,
Kendrick Perkins battled
Andrew Bogut down low and made all five of his field-goal tries for 10 points.
Curry walked out to receive his ring to chants of "M-V-P!" from the raucous sellout crowd in blue
2015 champion T-shirts, then thanked the fans.
"This is an unbelievable day," Curry said. "I got kind of goosebumps kind of reliving all the moments that we had."
Curry had the second-most points by a reigning MVP in an opener since 1963-64, according to
STATS.
Milwaukee's
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 41 on Oct. 13,
1972, against
Phoenix.
"Some of those shots that
Steph made, it doesn't matter who's out there, that's just who he is,"
Gentry said.
Curry started his seventh straight season opener, joining
Jeff Mullins and
Chris Mullin as the only players since 1962 - in the team's
West Coast history - to do so.
Bogut, already wearing a protective brace for a broken nose, received stitches for a laceration above his right eye.
He added 12 points, five rebounds and five assists as the Warriors began a stretch of five straight games against
Western Conference playoff teams to kick off their title defense.
A moment of silence was held for former NBA coach
Flip Saunders, who died Sunday.