Stephen Curry passes DeMar DeRozan for 16th in NBA career scoring as Warriors rout Pelicans 138 to 87

Stephen Curry scored 25 points in slightly more than 20 minutes to overtake DeMar DeRozan for 16th place on the National Basketball Association career regular season scoring list, powering the Golden State Warriors to a 138 to 87 rout of the New Orleans Pelicans that wrapped up after midnight Eastern time on Tuesday at Chase Center.

Beyond Curry’s individual milestone, the 51 point victory capped an unbeaten six game San Francisco homestand and wrote an unusual piece of league history. After opening the season with three straight losses, Golden State improved to eight wins and three defeats, becoming the first team in NBA history to follow an 0 and 3 start directly with an eight game winning streak, according to the official game box score and Associated Press recap.

Curry needed minimal floor time to reach his latest mark, hitting 6 of 10 shots from the field, knocking down 4 attempts from beyond the three point arc, and converting 9 free throws to lift his career regular season total to 26,803 points. That tally nudged him three points past Sacramento Kings veteran DeRozan, who entered the night at 26,800 points on the official NBA career scoring leaderboard.

Because both Curry and DeRozan remain active rotation scorers in the Western Conference, 16th place is likely to trade hands again over the coming weeks before either player catches retired Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon, who sits 15th in league history with 26,946 career points. Even so, Curry’s rapid climb comes just forty eight hours after he poured in 41 points during Saturday’s 126 to 119 overtime win against the Orlando Magic, underscoring how efficiently the thirty eight year old guard is producing without heavy minutes in blowouts.

Ball movement and defense turn game into early rout

Unlike early season outings in which Golden State fell behind in opening quarters, head coach Steve Kerr’s rotation overwhelmed an undermanned New Orleans lineup almost from the opening tip. Kerr used 10 players in the first period alone, with six different Warriors scoring at least four points as Golden State seized a 35 to 20 lead after twelve minutes.

New Orleans never recovered from its cold start, making just 7 of 23 shots in the opening period while missing 10 of its first 12 attempts from three point range. Brandin Podziemski opened the second quarter with four quick points to push the margin past 20, and Golden State outscored the visitors 37 to 23 in the period to carry a 72 to 43 advantage into halftime.

Any faint hope of a second half Pelicans rally vanished during a 40 to 22 third quarter burst that stretched the Warriors lead to 40 points at 101 to 61 with more than three minutes still remaining in the period, sending Golden State into the fourth quarter ahead 112 to 65 with Curry resting comfortably for the night. By the final horn, Golden State had shot 54.9 percent overall on 50 of 91 field goals and 47.7 percent from deep on 21 of 44 three point tries, compared with 36.3 percent overall on 29 of 80 shooting and 28.6 percent from distance on 8 of 28 tries for New Orleans.

Unselfish passing drove that shooting gap. Golden State recorded 37 assists on its 50 made baskets while committing only 11 turnovers that yielded just nine New Orleans points, extending the Warriors streak of 30 or more assists to three consecutive games and five of their past six contests. Golden State now stands unbeaten in all six games this season in which it has reached the 30 assist mark, while also dominating the glass 59 to 40.

Young depth steps up amid sidelining injuries

Podziemski matched Curry for game scoring honors with 25 points alongside four assists, while rookie forward Yaxel Lendeborg delivered 23 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in one of the sharpest outings of his young professional campaign. It marked the second time this season that three Warriors reached at least 20 points in the same game, and Lendeborg afterward swapped jerseys with Pelicans guard Jordan Poole, uniting two former University of Michigan standouts who helped define different eras of Golden State’s roster.

Golden State’s bench added steady interior and perimeter production throughout the second half. Guard De’Anthony Melton chipped in 16 points with four shots from beyond the arc, while center Charles Bassey collected a double double off the bench with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Sidelined star forward Jimmy Butler kept the home bench loose by dressing in coaching staff attire and carrying a clipboard bearing the handwritten instruction to pass the ball to Curry.

Measuring what a 51 point margin actually tells observers about Western Conference contenders requires accounting for who could not suit up, much as roster availability has reshaped international fixtures elsewhere in sports this week including England’s defensive injury withdrawals. New Orleans dropped to four wins and seven losses with its third straight defeat following a four game winning streak, playing on consecutive nights after a 139 to 123 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Pelicans coaches held out star forward Zion Williamson for rest on the second night of the road trip and also sat wing Trey Murphy III to manage persistent knee soreness after Murphy scored 26 points in Los Angeles a night earlier. Without its two primary frontcourt scorers, New Orleans leaned on 16 bench points from Derik Queen, 12 points from guard Dejounte Murray, and 11 points with eight assists from guard Jeremiah Fears.

Golden State did not escape the blowout unscathed on the injury ledger either. Kerr told reporters afterward that reserve guard Brandon Williams injured his left hamstring and was scheduled to undergo magnetic resonance imaging, while the team announced that second year guard Will Richard suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb and will spend the next week weighing whether to undergo surgery or play in a protective splint.

Stiffer competition awaits immediately as Golden State takes its eight game streak on the road Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets, who defeated Denver 110 to 100 in their latest outing, while New Orleans returns home Wednesday to host the Brooklyn Nets. Whether the Warriors can sustain 30 assist ball movement against rested Western Conference playoff contenders away from Chase Center will offer a far sterner test than Tuesday morning’s lopsided celebration.