New Orleans Pelicans find themselves embarrassed in road contest against undermanned Warriors

On Tuesday night, the New Orleans Pelicans lost their second straight game of the season 124-106 to the undermanned Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors played without superstar guard Steph Curry (ankle) and forward Andrew Wiggins (back), but they showed their depth and system cohesion in the win.

The Pelicans appeared poised to make up for their loss on Sunday to the Portland Trail Blazers by dominating the first quarter of the game. Brandon Ingram scored the first 10 points while the offense was firing on all cylinders. New Orleans had a lead of 20 points at one point. Defensively, the Pelicans held Golden State to just 21% shooting and remained scoreless in the final 4:50 of the quarter.

New Orleans ended the first quarter with a 13-0 run and had a 31-14 lead.

That lead quickly faded as the Warriors opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run. Turnovers doomed the Pelicans for most of the evening. They committed 15 turnovers in the first half, which led to 18 Golden State points.

Willie Green's team failed to capitalize on the Warriors' mistakes in the first half, scoring just two points due to Golden State turnovers. The stars of New Orleans played like stars: Zion Williamson scored 19 points at halftime and Ingram 15. However, they only led 51:47 at the break.

Things continued to go downhill as the Pelicans' offense stalled and Golden State's three-pointers came to life.

They outscored New Orleans 40-28 in the third period, and to add insult to injury, the Pelicans' All-World defenseman Herb Jones left early in the third quarter with a shoulder injury after the Warriors' guard, Brandon Podziemski, landed on it.

Without Jones, New Orleans lost its best perimeter defender, and without guard Dejounte Murray, they struggled to stop Golden State from making outside shots. That included former Pelicans guard Buddy Hield, who struggled with just three points in the first half but came through and led the Warriors to victory.

Hield scored 19 goals in the fourth quarter alone, while New Orleans perimeter scorers like CJ McCollum and Jordan Hawkins struggled to shoot the ball all night.

McCollum finished with just 5 points on 2/8 shooting while Hawkins scored just three points in 26 minutes. Golden State relished the Pelicans' mistakes, turning New Orleans' 23 turnovers into 32 points. The Warriors only committed eight turnovers on the night.

Williamson finished the game with 31 points in 30 minutes while Ingram contributed 30, but the rest of his teammates combined for 45 points on the night.

That includes three Pelicans starters who combined for 15 points while the team only attempted 22 three-pointers on the night. Golden State made 21 shots from distance in its 46 attempts.

The two teams play again on Wednesday evening.

If Jones can't play on Wednesday, the pressure will increase on players like Javonte Green and Hawkins to play solid defense and block shots.

New Orleans ends its current road trip after this contest before returning home for a five-game homestand beginning Friday night.