Stephen Curry carried the Golden State Warriors to a huge lead, waving his arms and flexing his muscles with one acrobatic shot after another.
Every time the New Orleans Pelicans pulled closer, Curry came back even better.
Curry scored 34 points with an MVP-worthy performance, and the Warriors went up big before holding off the Pelicans 106-99 in their NBA play-off opener Saturday.
“I was locked in and focused the whole night,” Curry said. “In those situations, you want to get the crowd back into it. There’s a weird kind of tension, especially in the second half when they made a couple runs. But in the play-offs, you have to expect anything. And whenever you’re on the floor, just try to make an impact.”
Klay Thompson added 21 points, and Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut dominated down low as the Warriors looked every bit like the NBA’s top seed – at least for three quarters. They smothered Anthony Davis and the Pelicans early on with the league’s best defence, thrilling a gold shirt-wearing sellout crowd of 19,596 that rocked and roared most of the afternoon.
The Warriors led by 15 after the first quarter, 18 at the half and 25 late in the third. The Pelicans pulled within four in the final minute behind Davis, who scored 20 of his 35 points in the final quarter, to make the contest seem closer than it really was.
“It’s good for us to have to deal with the feeling in the building, especially as a favourite, when a team starts to come back,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “You have to feel that. That’s all part of it.”
Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is Monday night in Oakland, where the Warriors have won 19 straight.
Davis did his best to bring the Pelicans back, shooting 13-of-23 from the floor and grabbing seven rebounds in his play-off debut. Quincy Pondexter scored 20 points and Eric Gordon added 16 for the Pelicans, who shot 42.2 per cent and looked overwhelmed by the moment until the final quarter.
“I think the whole team was nervous,” Davis said. “This is our first time as a unit in the play-offs, and our pace was good. We were moving fast, but our minds were moving fast as well.”
It didn’t help the Pelicans that point guard Tyreke Evans left in the first half with a left knee injury. Coach Monty Williams said Evans will have an MRI exam and his status for the rest of the series is unclear.
The other part of the Pelicans’ problems were caused by Golden State’s defensive stoppers, Green and Bogut, who came up big on both ends. Green finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Bogut had 12 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.
It was the same way the Warriors won a franchise-record 67 games this season, going a league-best 39-2 at home. And just like their resume predicted, they worked over the Pelicans with all the pomp and potency of a play-off powerhouse at the start.
Fans chanted “War-ri-ors!” during warmups, an alley-oop from Thompson to Bogut got them roaring more and then came Curry crashing through the lane for layups, sending them into a chorus of “M-V-P!” for the man many believe will take home the NBA’s most coveted individual award.
Curry put Golden State up 28-13 after the first quarter. In the final seconds of the second quarter, Curry raced up court and converted a high-arching, left-handed reverse layup, drawing a foul on Davis to start a three-point play and pulling his arms toward his shoulders in celebration.
“It was a fun little play,” Curry said.
The basket put the Warriors up 59-41 at the half, and they led 82-57 late in the third quarter. Despite Davis’s late push, it was too much for New Orleans to overcome.
Curry finished 13-of-25 shooting, though he was just 4-of-13 from three-point range. He also had five assists and four rebounds.
“That’s what he does,” Kerr said. “Steph’s our engine. Everything we do starts with him.”
*Associated Press
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More coverage from the Future Forum
The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYasmin%20Azad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESwift%20Press%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
INFO
Everton 0
Arsenal 0
Man of the Match: Djibril Sidibe (Everton)
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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