Stephen Curry leads Warriors to bounce back win over Pelicans

03/29/2025 12:46 AM

After the deflating loss to the Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler laid it out plainly to reporters: “We definitely need 30 back.”

So, in what felt like a must-win game to prevent a three-game skid, No. 30 himself, Stephen Curry, returned to the Warriors starting lineup and led the team to a solid 111-95 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Curry looked comfortable after missing two games, contributing 23 points, four rebounds, six assists, and three steals to a Dubs team that looked lost offensively without him. While Curry shot a measly 7-21 from the field, his gravity opened up the floor for his teammates. Five other Warriors reached double digits in scoring, with co-star Butler collecting 18 points and 10 rebounds and Jonathan Kuminga getting back on track with 16 points and seven rebounds.

But it took the Warriors a minute to find their groove with Curry back in the lineup. The Dubs got off to yet another low-energy start as the Pelicans opened the game on a 14-2 run. The Warriors starters shot 1-of-8 to open the game. The team looked discombobulated by a New Orleans team missing most of their starting five, including Zion Williamson.

In his post-game interview on NBC Sports Bay Area, rookie Quentin Post talked about the team weathering another bad first quarter.

“[The Pelicans] came out firing, credit to them, they played really hard. We need to pick it up in these starts,” Post said.

The Dutch center has been a revelation for this Warriors team in need of shooting. He finished with 15 points and six rebounds on 5-of-11 from the floor. Post was also asked about the effect of having a player of Curry’s caliber back on the floor.

“It makes all the difference. He kept us in the game in the first half,” Post said. “He’s the heart and soul of this organization, and it’s so good to have him back here.”

Steve Kerr also lauded Curry’s performance in his post-game press conference.

“I thought he looked great. He was moving really well and took care of the ball. I thought Steph played an excellent game,” Kerr told reporters. “He missed his last five or six threes, so the numbers don’t look great, but he looked like himself, and I thought the week off did him a lot of good.”

Next man up without GP2

The Dubs lost their critical glue guy and 2022 NBA Champion Gary Payton II to injury earlier this week. With Payton out for the foreseeable future with a torn thumb ligament, Kerr’s rotation shortens a bit. Before the game, Kerr told reporters Payton’s absence gives Kuminga a window of opportunity.

“It opens up an opportunity for [Kuminga] to be that defensive stopper, the guy we’ve relied on Gary to be,” Kerr said. “JK’s the obvious guy. Put him on the best offensive player, pick up full-court, harass people like [Payton] does. I’m going to ask JK to do that, and it definitely opens up more minutes if he is effective with that. And then it’s a mix and match game to game with who’s playing well and how we’re playing.”

Without Payton, Kerr only went 10 players deep into the rotation when the game mattered. And with this shortened rotation, there was much more clarity for Kuminga in terms of spacing and skill sets. Kerr leveraged Curry’s unparalleled spacing next to Kuminga to great effect, especially with 5:58 left to play in the first quarter, where two players jumped at Curry, allowing Kuminga to roll strong to the rim for a high-rising finish.

JK as the screener for Steph, who expectedly gets the two-on-the-ball treatment. Pels reacting to Steph whenever he gets the ball. Gui in the dunker benefits. pic.twitter.com/vxMtwq1PBk

— Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) March 29, 2025

There’s only so much to take away from a win versus a tanking Pelicans team without their key starters. But Curry’s connection with Kuminga shows the potential of what the latter can be with the Warriors. He’s not going to be the No. 1 or No. 2 scoring option. Kuminga has to find his niche, and Kerr’s made that niche clear: be a defensive stopper and slash hard to the rim.

Shooting slump heading into the home stretch

What remains a concern for the Dubs, as they are locked in a heated battle for the sixth seed in the West, is the shooting. The Warriors were 23.6% from beyond the arc, making only 13 3s on a staggering 55 3-point attempts. In the same press conference after the game, Kerr acknowledged the team’s shooting woes.

“We are [in a shooting slump], and it happens during the year,” Kerr said. “I thought we had good looks tonight that we didn’t knock down, but we can help our shooting with good passing. If we’re unselfishly moving the ball and throwing it to the first open guy, that guy makes the next pass, the shot is more likely to go in. It’s a little more open, a little more in rhythm so we have to find some more rhythm offensively.”

As Kerr pointed out, the shot quality has been there; the team just has to take advantage of those moments. Opponents are going to play the percentages and dare the Dubs to shoot. Come playoff time, guys like Draymond Green, Moses Moody, Gui Santos, and even Butler, at times, will have to make some big-time shots.

The Warriors remained stuck in the seventh seed despite the win. The Los Angeles Clippers stay surging, and the Minnesota Timberwolves aren’t far behind, so the only way forward is to win.

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