Warriors down Pelicans for 3-1 lead in NBA playoff series

NEW ORLEANS – Kevin Durant had 38 points and nine rebounds and Golden State soundly defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 118-92 on Sunday to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.
The Warriors responded to their 19-point loss in Game 3 with a resounding effort that produced a wire-to-wire win with leads as large as 26 points.
Durant made 15 of 27 shots. Stephen Curry scored 23, Klay Thompson added 13 and Quinn Cook, who was a Pelicans reserve earlier this season, contributed 12 points.
Anthony Davis had 26 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans, but the Pelicans hit only 36 percent (32 of 88) of their shots, missing 22 of 26 3-point attempts.
E’Twaun Moore scored 20 and Jrue Holiday 19, but New Orleans reserves combined for just 14 points after scoring 32 two nights earlier. Rajon Rondo finished with 11 rebounds, but the Pelicans also committed 19 turnovers, which led to 21 Warriors points.
The Warriors led by as many as 18 in the first half when Cook’s floater made it 33-15 late in the first quarter.
The Pelicans shot 37 percent in the first half, but with good rebounding and free-throw shooting, they managed to slowly grind the Warriors’ lead down to a seemingly manageable seven by halftime, only to have Golden State storm out of the gate in the third quarter.