Zion Williamson scored 28 points, his most in a road game this season, and Nicolo Melli saved three of his six 3-pointers for the fourth quarter Sunday night as the New Orleans Pelicans rallied for a 115-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Williamson shot 13-for-20 and added seven rebounds, six on the offensive end, helping the playoff-hopeful Pelicans win for the fifth time in their last six games.
Damion Lee had 22 points and Jordan Poole 19 for the Warriors, who lost their sixth straight.
Seeking a third win over New Orleans this season, Golden State led by as many as 11 points in the first half en route to a 56-46 advantage at the break.
But the Pelicans dominated the second half, beginning with a 22-6 burst early in the third period that turned a 12-point deficit into a 68-64 lead. Jrue Holiday had eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Williamson three hoops in the run.
The Warriors managed to draw even at 77-all by period's end, but New Orleans used another flurry early in the fourth quarter to take command for good.
Melli (two) and Holiday (one) combined for three 3-pointers in an 11-2 spurt that quickly gave the visitors a nine-point lead.
The Warriors got within six on one subsequent occasion, but Melli added another 3-pointer to help the Pelicans pull away.
Williamson's 28 points, which came in just 33 minutes, established a new rookie opponent's scoring record at the new Chase Center in San Francisco. Memphis' Ja Morant set the old mark of 26 in December.
Melli finished with 20 points off the bench, shooting 6-for-7 on 3-pointers. The Pelicans outscored the Warriors 51-33 on threes.
Holiday finished with 23 points and a game-high 15 assists, while Brandon Ingram chipped in with 17 points for the Pelicans, who have opened a three-game trip with a pair of wins.
Juan Toscano-Anderson went for a season-best 16 points, Ky Bowman 15 and Eric Paschall 13 for the Warriors, who fell to 0-2 on their four-game homestand.
Andrew Wiggins was held to eight points on 3-for-16 shooting in the loss, but did find time for a team-high 10 rebounds to complement four assists and two blocks.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
SAN FRANCISCO - The Golden State Warriors are weeks from opening a sleek $1.5 billion sports and entertainment complex in San Francisco thanks largely to a years-long tech boom that made it financially feasible, the team's president said on Monday.
The Warriors, led by ace shooter Stephen Curry, have appeared in the past five straight NBA finals and won three of them. For over 40 years, their home was an aging arena across San Francisco Bay in far less glitzy Oakland.
San Francisco has been transformed in recent years by thousands of tech workers streaming into the city. That boom has also pushed housing costs to unprecedented levels, creating angst among many longtime Bay Area residents that they will not be able to afford to stay.
For some, the Warriors' move has come to symbolize those changing economics.
Team president Rick Welts said the new Chase Center facility would not have been possible without hundreds of thousands of square feet in office space as part of the development. Ride-share giant Uber is the major tenant.
The Warriors did not receive any public financing for the project, which the team calls unprecedented in modern sports.
Welts led reporters on a tour of the bright, airy facility on Monday, where the yellow hardwood basketball court was just installed. Construction workers put finishing touches on luxury amenities including courtside lounges with their own private wine cellar.
Welts said 70 percent of Oakland season ticket holders have renewed their seats. He did not yet know how many security guards and concession staff from Oakland will ultimately be able to keep their jobs.
The Warriors obtained the land for Chase Center from Salesforce, whose chief executive Marc Benioff had originally planned to use the site for a new corporate campus but found it too small.
Last year, Benioff backed a successful San Francisco ballot measure to increase funds for homeless services by raising taxes on business. The proposal bitterly split the city's corporate community.
Welts said the Warriors declined to take a position on the initiative, adding that the team's major charitable focus was on improving education and life outcomes for kids. The team plans to repurpose its former facilities in Oakland to that end.
"We're going to teach more kids to play basketball there than I'm guessing any other team in the NBA," he said.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford )
source: news.abs-cbn.com
