New Orleans at Golden State

Golden State has won seven straight since an 0-3 start. Stephen Curry scored 41 on Saturday in a 126-119 overtime win over Orlando, a game that was tied after four quarters. The Warriors are 7-3 with a scoring margin of 5.0 points per game across those ten games. Their last four wins came by 12, 3, 20 and 7 points, and the opponents scored 112, 113, 100 and 119 (the last in overtime), which is 111.0 a game. Golden State plays at 98.0 possessions per game, 23rd of 30 teams. That tempo is the obstacle for a New Orleans team that scores 120.5 points a game, second in the NBA, and allows 120.8, 26th. Through its first nine games, New Orleans ranked fourth in pace. A slow game leaves the Pelicans fewer possessions to produce those scores and fewer for Golden State to pull away on. New Orleans is 4-6 and 1-3 on the road. It handed Memphis its first loss of the season, 135-134 in overtime, and lost 115-109 to Minnesota on Friday. Golden State used its seventh different starting lineup in its eighth game on November 2 and is without Jimmy Butler tonight. That leaves Curry, at 31.3 points a game and second in the NBA, to carry the scoring load. I'm backing the Pelicans with the points and the UNDER tonight.