Stephen Curry scored a game-high 39 points and joined Klay Thompson in a second-half 3-point barrage, sending the Golden State Warriors to a come-from-behind 120-109 victory over the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night in San Francisco.
Curry finished with eight 3-pointers and Thompson five, helping Golden State outscore the Pelicans 36-9 from beyond the arc in the second half en route to a key win that moved the Warriors (40-37) into sole possession of the No. 6 playoff spot in the Western Conference with just five games remaining.
Brandon Ingram had a team-high 26 points for the Pelicans (38-38), who could have moved past the Warriors with a sixth straight win.
Ingram had 16 of his 26 points and CJ McCollum 13 of his 15 in a wild first half that saw the Pelicans go up by 20 points while the Warriors shot themselves in the foot with 14 turnovers.
But Golden State, down 63-46 at the break, used a 39-point third quarter to rally within 89-85 before gradually erasing the deficit and pulling away. The Warriors outscored the visitors 74-46 in the second half and limited their turnovers to five after the break.
Curry also found time for eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals for the Warriors, who won for the fourth time in their last five games.
Thompson finished with 17 points for Golden State, while Jordan Poole had 21 and Jonathan Kuminga and Donte DiVincenzo 13 apiece.
Draymond Green, who was assessed his 17th technical foul in the first half for a run-in with Ingram after a flagrant foul, chipped in with a game-high 13 assists to complement eight points, six rebounds and two steals.
Ingram also collected a team-high seven assists and added eight rebounds for New Orleans, which was playing the second night of a back-to-back after winning at Portland on Monday.
Trey Murphy III totaled 21 points for the Pelicans, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range. New Orleans shot just 3-for-13 from deep in the second half after connecting on 9 of 14 in the first 24 minutes.
Jonas Valanciunas had a game-high nine rebounds to go with 11 points for New Orleans, while Herbert Jones chipped in 13 points.
–Field Level Media