The New Orleans Pelicans hope to have learned from experience when they seek a split in the second game of their NBA-style doubleheader against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night in San Francisco. Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody -- all making their first start of the season for Golden State -- combined for 64 points Tuesday night. The trio rallied the Warriors from a 20-point deficit into a 124-106 victory in the opener of the two-day, two-game sequence.
The same-opponent, back-to-back scheduling is rare for most NBA teams, but not the Pelicans, who already experienced it last week in Portland. On that occasion, the Pelicans watched as the Trail Blazers exacted revenge for a 105-103 defeat on Friday with a 125-103 victory on Sunday. New Orleans now finds itself in the revenge seeker's position, something Zion Williamson looks forward to.
"That's the beauty of the NBA," he said after the Tuesday loss. "Sometimes you get to see the team again the next day or two days later. Other times, you've got to wait.
But you always get another shot at it." Williamson had 31 points and Brandon Ingram scored 30 for the Pelicans, but they combined for 10 of the visitors' 24 turnovers. Williamson had seven of the miscues, just one fewer than Golden State's team total.
As a result, the Warriors were able to overcome a 54.1 percent to 47.4 percent shooting disadvantage by getting up 23 more shots.
Golden State had six more field goals than New Orleans in the game. The .
