Anthony Davis Led The Pelicans To A Dominant Game 3 Win Over The Warriors

As the series shifted back to New Orleans on Friday night for Game 3, the Pelicans managed to avoid a virtually insurmountable 3-0 deficit with a dominant 119-100 win over the Warriors.

Head coach Steve Kerr tried to make things interesting by announcing prior to tip-off that he was inserting JaVale McGee into the starting lineup in place of Andre Iguodala, ostensibly hoping that McGee’s considerable length would bother Anthony Davis.

But Davis was nonplussed, to say the least, and put in a spectacular performance as he led the Pelicans with 33 points, 18 rebounds, four steals, and three assists, plus one monster tomahawk jam late in the fourth to put the exclamation mark on a decisive victory.

Jrue Holiday once again showed why he’s one of the more underappreciated players of the playoffs as he posted 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a pair of blocks. Rajon Rondo finished with a career playoff high 21 assists on the night, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in the postseason since 2011, when Rondo himself did it against the Knicks.

Ian Clark caught fire against his former team as well, putting up 18 points in 19 minutes off the bench, and going 3-of-5 from downtown, while Nikola Mirotic finally showed some signs of life in Game 3 as well, finding his rhythm for 16 points on 50 percent shooting, including 3-of-5 from long-range.

After going scoreless in the first quarter, Klay Thompson went off for 20 points in the second to help the Warriors close the gap to six just before halftime. But the Pelicans started the third on a 10-2 run and eventually pushed the lead to 25, which marked the Warriors’ largest deficit of the postseason so far.

The Pelicans never relinquished control after that. The Warriors struggled from the field all night, shooting just 29 percent from downtown as a team. Steph Curry was emblematic of those struggles as he shot just 6-of-19 overall, including 3-of-9 from three. Thompson was likewise 3-of-9 from range as he led the way with 26 points, while Kevin Durant scored 22 on the night but was just 8-of-18 overall.

Rondo and Draymond Green continued to keep things chippy at various points, including this incident which got Rondo a technical foul late.

Yet Dray somehow managed to maintain his composure and has yet to earn his first technical of the postseason so far, a development Kerr marveled at before Friday night’s game.

The Pelicans now have an opportunity to even the series when Game 4 tips off on Sunday back in New Orleans at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.