Golden State’s 37 Assists Showed How Much More This Offense Can Be

The scoreboard said 138-87. The passing column said 37 assists on 50 made field goals. For Golden State, that second number offered the sharper description of Monday’s win over New Orleans at Chase Center, Golden State’s eighth in a row.

Stephen Curry still scored 25 points in about 21 minutes, because some traditions refuse to retire. Yet the Warriors did not ask him to carry every possession or solve every defensive problem with a difficult shot. Draymond Green and Al Horford had six assists apiece, combining for 12 while scoring seven points.

Their work gave Golden State a way to keep the offense connected even when Curry was not the final answer.

Green’s role was familiar but still important. He assisted Brandin Podziemski on a 5-foot basket with 11:45 left in the first quarter, then found Curry for a 25-foot three later in the period. Early in the third, Green assisted Podziemski on another 5-foot basket.

Those plays came from different areas of the attack, but they shared a basic quality: Green made the pass that moved the possession toward a clean finish rather than insisting on being the finisher himself.

Horford supplied the same idea from a different spot on the floor. In the second quarter, he assisted Podziemski on a running layup. After halftime, he fed Podziemski for a 24-foot three, found Yaxel Lendeborg for a driving layup and assisted Curry on a 22-foot three.

The sequence of Horford-created baskets covered a drive and two jumpers, with three different teammates cashing in. Horford played 15 minutes, scored five points and blocked three shots; his six assists were the larger contribution to the shape of the night.

That distribution mattered because Podziemski and Lendeborg were productive beside Curry rather than merely waiting for his gravity to create everything. Podziemski scored 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting, made 5 of 11 three-pointers and finished with four assists without a turnover. Lendeborg added 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting, went 4-for-4 from three, collected seven rebounds and made four assists.

Their scoring changed the burden on Curry. He shot 6-for-10 overall and 4-for-7 from three, while committing one turnover. Those numbers describe efficiency, but the larger point is possession variety: Podziemski could finish a play or help start one, while Lendeborg could attack the rim, hit from outside or move the ball along.

Golden State’s offense had several players capable of ending a possession without requiring the same player to initiate it.

The shooting made the passing harder to ignore. The Warriors made 21 of 44 three-point attempts and shot 55 percent overall. They scored 35 points in the opening quarter and held New Orleans to 20, then reached halftime with a 72-43 advantage.

By the finish, Golden State had a 50-31 rebounding edge and a 17-6 advantage in fast-break points. Passing alone does not produce that margin; accurate shots and extra possessions turn good movement into a runaway.

There is also a sensible boundary around the performance. New Orleans played without Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III, and the Pelicans briefly held the lead before Golden State took control. The 51-point result therefore cannot establish how this offense will look against an opponent with those scorers available and more ways to challenge each action.

Even so, the game supplied a clear picture of what the Warriors can become when the ball keeps changing hands.

Curry’s scoring will draw the headline, as it should. The more revealing figure belonged to the group: 37 assists, with Green and Horford supplying 12 and Podziemski and Lendeborg providing 48 points alongside him. Golden State’s attack was at its best when the next decision did not belong to one star. It belonged to whoever had the cleanest pass or the open finish.

Sources

ESPN: final game record and play-by-play

Associated Press via ESPN: game reporting