Pelicans vs. Warriors: Game 2 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 NBA Playoffs

The Golden State Warriors grabbed a 2-0 series lead over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night in Oracle Arena with a 97-87 win.

According to NBA TV, it's the 20th home victory in a row for Golden State:

Stephen Curry had 22 points and six assists, while Klay Thompson finished as the Warriors' leading scorer with 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting.

The transition game was one of the deciding factors in the outcome, as Golden State outscored New Orleans 24-7 on the fast break. When Curry and Thompson are on the break and in space, they're nearly unstoppable.

Anthony Davis posted a double-double (26 points, 10 rebounds), but he was almost nonexistent in the fourth quarter. Eric Gordon was also pivotal in the Pelicans' upset bid, but his 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting couldn't quite get the job done.

Pelicans coach Monty Williams didn't exactly help his team before the game when he commented about the crowd noise inside Oracle Arena.

"I'm not so sure the decibel level is legal, and I'm serious," said Williams after Game 1, per ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh. "They've done studies on that. For the competition committee, there's got to be something to that. It does get a little out of hand. Their fans, I've talked about it for years, they have some of the best fans in the league."

Erik Malinowski noted that the fans in Oracle Arena decided to only make things worse for Williams and the Pelicans in Game 2:

"

Loudest I’ve ever heard Oracle Arena. We’re still introducing lineups.

— Erik Malinowski (@erikmal) April 21, 2015"

New Orleans was clearly unaffected by the crowd early on. The Pelicans owned a 28-17 lead after the first quarter.

Davis carried over his strong play from Game 1, scoring 10 points in the opening frame. The explosive start didn't come as much of a surprise after the 22-year-old scored 35 points in a losing effort Saturday. The bigger shock came from Gordon, who had 11 points of his own in the first quarter.

This was certainly a far cry from New Orleans' offensive output from Game 1, in which the Pels scored just 13 first-quarter points.

The universe righted itself in the second quarter, though. According to Haberstroh, Golden State scored 14 points on its first six second-quarter possessions. The Warriors found their offensive groove and outscored the Pelicans 38-24 to grab a 55-52 halftime lead.

As good as New Orleans was defensively, it was powerless to stop this kind of ball movement, per NBA on TNT:

ESPN Stats & Info also illustrated the difference in the Warriors' play between the first and second quarters:

Although the momentum swung firmly Golden State's way going into halftime, the Pelicans came out for the third quarter with a renewed defensive fire. They held the Warriors to just 16 points in the period, and a layup from Davis with 39 seconds left until the fourth tied the game at 71-71.

ESPN.com's Ethan Sherwood Strauss felt New Orleans was doing an especially good job of limiting Curry's effectiveness as a playmaker:

The Pelicans weren't exactly known for their defense during the regular season. According to NBA.com, they finished 22nd in defensive rating (104.7). CBS Sports' Zach Harper joked that it was all a part of Williams' plan:

New Orleans didn't fade away in the fourth, constantly threatening to take the lead. Time and again, though, the Warriors would get a stop on the defensive end and then follow it up with a big shot or two to knock New Orleans back a peg.

The Pels shot 4-of-16 to close out the game, as Draymond Green neutralized Davis inside. Gordon also cooled off at the worst time, missing a couple of critical shots that could've changed the complexion of the game.

ESPN Stats & Info provided the gory second-half numbers for New Orleans:

Grantland's Bill Simmons felt that Green's performance will be worth millions of dollars when he becomes a free agent this summer:

Although New Orleans will be disappointed that it got so close to knocking off the top seed and wrestling away home-court advantage, the Pelicans can't get too down after their Game 2 loss. As SB Nation's Tom Ziller argued, Oracle Arena is an almost impossible venue to win in on the road:

"

I don't understand how anyone could think New Orleans' best chance at a win could come in Oakland. 39-2 means something.

— Tom Ziller (@teamziller) April 21, 2015"

"

The Pelicans could be up 15 and their best shot would still be in New Orleans, not in Oakland.

— Tom Ziller (@teamziller) April 21, 2015"

The series now shifts to the Smoothie King Center for Game 3 this Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Game 3 is as much of a must-win situation New Orleans can have without the threat of elimination. If the Pelicans go down 3-0 to the Warriors, then this series is almost certainly over. Meanwhile, clawing back to make it 2-1 could give Williams and his team enough confidence to seriously make a run at Golden State.