Leading by 20 points, the Golden State Warriors made an emotional comeback with Buddy Hield shining on a day without Stephen Curry.video

After a rough first quarter, the Warriors turned up their defense and Hield and Lindy Waters III turned up the offensive heat in a 124-106 win

It looked rough after one quarter for the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night. Playing on TNT and missing the injured Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors fell behind by 17 points after one quarter to the New Orleans Pelicans. But after that, the Warriors turned up the defense and Reggie Miller fired up Buddy Hield to inspire Golden State to a 124-106 win.

Hield was the star with 28 points and seven three-pointers, including 19 points in the second quarter. He didn’t miss a shot after a halftime conversation with Miller, who uncomfortably refused to share what he told the Warriors’ new sharpshooter. All we know is he was a different player after the break, sinking all six of his triples. For the season, he’s now 20-for-36 from deep.

The Warriors got 19 points and five assists from their temporary starting point guard, Brandin Podziemski, who exemplified Golden State’s effectively handsy defense Tuesday night with numerous deflections, two blocks, and a steal. Demoted starter Jonathan Kuminga came alive with 17 points and three assists, one of them a really nice feed to Trayce Jackson-Davis for a dunk.

As per the charter of this site, whenever we mention “Kuminga” and “dunk” in the same sentence, we are contractually obligated to include footage of Kuminga dunking. So here a very pretty reverse dunk from JK on a breakway.

But the truly surprising game came from Lindy Waters III, who did everything for the Warriors in 31 minutes, in which he scored 21 points with a plus/minus of +26. Not only did Waters score, but he grabbed nine reobunds, dished four assists, got a block and a steal, and made one improbable defensive rebound racing back after a missed corner three.

Draymond Green had the unenviable assignment of slowing down Zion Williamson, who had 31 points for the Pelicans and essentially cannot be stopped by anyone one-on-one. But Green made his night difficult, drawing two charges on the All-Star forward, one changed from a blocking call after a Kerr challenge. Yes, Draymond convinced his coach to challenge a foul call and he was right! That accounted for two of Williamson’s seven turnovers, three of them on charging fouls.

Green also had seven assists and hit a huge three to stop a 6-0 Pelicans run and get the Warriors within four points at the half.