Through 5 games since the beginning of the season, Buddy Hield, despite coming off the bench, has scored the most points for the Golden State Warriors in 4 games, contributing greatly to 4 victories.
Once again overcoming a bad start on an individual basis, Buddy Hield played the role of the Golden State Warriors’ number 1 star in the second game in two consecutive days.
Facing the opponent New Orleans Pelicans, Hield and his teammates had 6 people scoring over 10 points. This even effort helped the Warriors defeat the visitors with a score of 104-89, winning their 4th win in 5 games since the beginning of the season and temporarily rising to 2nd place in the Western Conference standings.
Similar to the October 30 match when starting with only 1-8 FG, Buddy Hield today had 1-6 FG in the beginning of the encounter with the New Orleans Pelicans.
But unlike yesterday’s 124-106 victory, this time Hield had strong support from his teammates. No longer slow to start the game as in the previous 4 matches, the Warriors this time played effectively and focused right from the first half.
Led by the trio of Jonathan Kuminga, Kyle Anderson and guard Moses Moody, nine Warriors players took turns scoring to maintain the chase with the Pelicans throughout the first two quarters.
In the third quarter, the Golden State Warriors delivered a comprehensive performance on offense and defense. Draymond Green locked down big man Zion Williamson on the Pelicans side (only 5-20 FGs in the whole game), greatly limiting the opponent’s firepower. On the offensive line, Buddy Hield and Trayce Jackson-Davis led the way, opening the gap at times as far as 17 points.
With the game at a standstill and missing some key players due to injuries such as Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones and CJ McCollum, the New Orleans Pelicans accepted defeat. In two days, they lost two consecutive matches both to the Golden State Warriors.
Video: Kuminga’s great play left both Stephen Curry and coach Steve Kerr in awe
Through 5 games since the beginning of the season, Buddy Hield has led the Warriors in scoring in 4 games. His efficiency in playing is very high with an average of 21.2 points in just 28 minutes of play.
Today, the 1992-born shooter had 21 points with 4 successful 3-pointers in the whole game, reaching 8-19 FG and bringing in 3 more assists. The more Hield plays, the more he shows that Golden State is a bargain when only having to pay an average of 3.9 million USD per year, in exchange for a shooter with more than 20 points/game.
Back to the game, Draymond Green contributed greatly to this result, who completed the task of containing Zion Williamson on defense and also scored 14 points (3-5 3PT), with 6 assists on offense.
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga and Kyle Anderson all scored over 10 points. Anderson had 100% FG, Trayce had 9 rebounds and 1 block, Podziemski pocketed 7 assists.
On the other side of the field, Zion had a difficult day when he was constantly challenged by Draymond Green’s smart and tenacious defense. After 33 minutes on the field, he had 12 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists but lost the ball 4 times.
Taking advantage of the opportunity when the Warriors defense focused on big names, 22-year-old guard Jordan Hawkins scored 23 points with 4 rebounds and had 4 3-pointers. Jose Alvarado scored 16 points and 4 assists. Brandon Ingram was quite limited in finishing with only 5-11 FG, recorded 14 PTS and added 6 assists.
After two games at Chase Center, the Warriors and Pelicans will travel together. The Pelicans will return to New Orleans for a four-game homestand. Their first visitors will be the Indiana Pacers, who play Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors are on a five-game road trip. Their next stop is Houston, where they will face the Rockets on Sunday morning.