Before the Golden State Warriors meet the Memphis Grizzlies to decide the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference play-in tournament, the New Orleans Pelicans made a stop at Chase Center on Friday night.
With all eyes on Sunday’s matchup with heavy postseason implications, the Warriors ruled out Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins against the Pelicans. With the absence of Golden State’s three core stars, the combination of Jordan Poole and Mychal Mulder helped push the Warriors past the Pelicans, 125-122.
Despite a late Pelicans’ run fueled by Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Poole sealed the victory with a go-ahead bucket with 21 seconds remaining. The second-year guard tallied a career-high 38 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field with six assists and four rebounds in 33 minutes.
Mychal Mulder tacked on a career-high of his own with 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field with two rebounds, an assist and a steal in 34 minutes. Mulder caught fire from long distance, drilling seven triples on 13 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Warriors will now head into Sunday’s contest with a chance to lock the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference play-in tournament with a win over the Grizzlies.
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Starting out strong
Without three key starters, the Warriors didn’t miss a step in the opening quarter against the Pelicans. Poole and Mulder scored 26 points combined in the first 12 minutes to give Golden State an eight-point advantage over New Orleans.
With Mulder drilling four triples on five attempts from deep, the Warriors notched eight 3-pointers in the opening frame on their way to a 41 point first quarter scoring explosion.
Eric Paschall
After missing the last 19 games with a hip injury, Eric Paschall made his long-awaited return to Golden State’s rotation on Friday night. In 19 minutes off the bench, Paschall tallied 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field with four rebounds.
Paschall’s return will provide some much-needed depth in the frontcourt behind Draymond Green and Kevon Looney.
Jordan Bell
Along with Paschall, Jordan Bell made his return to the Warriors on Friday evening. After converting Juan Toscano-Anderson to a standard contract, the Warriors added Bell to their open two-way deal before the end of the season.
In 15 minutes of action, Bell notched one point on 0-of-2 shooting from the field, but the former second-round pick recorded five rebounds, two assists and two blocks against the Pelicans.
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