Cousins leads Warriors past Pelicans; Curry leaves hurt

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Pelicans 112-103 on Tuesday night in a game that saw guard Stephen Curry leave with a mild foot sprain.

The Warriors announced that Curry, who played the first nine minutes of the game, was held out the rest of the night as a precaution. Golden State, which already had clinched the top playoff seed in the Western Conference, also played without several other prominent players, including forward Kevin Durant, who was listed out with an illness, and guard Klay Thompson, who was given an opportunity to rest his sore right knee.

The game also likely marked the end of the Anthony Davis era in New Orleans — and unceremoniously so. The disgruntled All-Star, who missed his seventh straight game with what the team has officially listed as back spasms, wore a T-shirt with the famous Looney Toons sign off, “That’s All Folks,” written across the chest. As he walked down the tunnel toward the locker room after the game, he gave one fan a high-five.

Davis is under contract through next season, but has asked to be traded and is expected to be this offseason.

Damion Lee, who has a two-way contract with Golden State and has spent much of this season in the G-League, matched his career high with 20 points. Former Pelican Quinn Cook scored 19 points.

Christian Wood had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Pelicans, who closed out the season with 13 losses in their last 16 games as they mixed and matched lineups of primarily young or recently acquired players they sought to evaluate for the future.

Jahlil Okafor scored 30 points and Ian Clark 20 for New Orleans.

Cousins, playing in New Orleans for the first time since tearing his Achilles as a member of the Pelicans in January 2018, was greeted with a mixture of boos and cheers when he was introduced as a starter.

As the game wore on, the Mobile, Alabama, native drew mostly cheers every time he scored.

He wound up playing nearly 35 minutes before heading to the bench for good in the fourth quarter.

TIP-INS

Warriors: Forward Andre Iguodala (left toe soreness) and Andrew Bogut (rest) also did not play. … Louisiana native Jacob Evans scored 11 points, while Alfonzo McKinnie and Jordan Bell each scored 10.

Pelicans: Diallo, who came in 0 for 3 on the season from 3-point range, hit a 3 from along the right sideline late in the first half and held up three fingers as he ran back toward the defensive end. He finished with 11 points. … The Pelicans were 9 of 33 from 3-point range. … Clark was 3 of 10 from deep, while Wood and Kenrich Williams were 2 of 7 from long range.

THAT’S ALL FOLKS

A photo of Davis arriving at the arena wearing his Looney Toons T-shirt was briefly posted on one of the club’s social media accounts along with a typical selection of player arrivals, but the Davis image was subsequently deleted. The Pelicans made Davis the NBA’s top overall draft choice in 2012. He has spent seven seasons in New Orleans and was named an All-Star the past six.

UP NEXT

Warriors: Visit Memphis on Wednesday night.

Pelicans: Head into what promises to be the making of an eventful offseason that will include the hiring of a new general manager and a likely trade of Davis.