The Warriors advanced to the Western Conference finals for a fourth consecutive year with their 113-104 win over the Pelicans on Tuesday night. After a rough finish to the 2017-18 regular season, the Warriors have seemed to return to championship form.
The defending champs benefited from dominant third-quarter performances throughout the series as well as the return of two-time MVP Stephen Curry.. Here are five important stats from the Warriors' semifinals win…
31.0: The amount of assists the Warriors averaged per game
Led by Draymond Green's 10.0 assists per game in the series, the Warriors dished out 155 assists on 216 made field goals (71.8 percent) while committing just 66 turnovers. Green's playmaking ability is crucial to the team: In the regular season and playoffs, Golden State is 12-2 in games in which he finishes with 10 or more assists.
Golden State's offense is largely predicated on ball movement and spreading the wealth. The Warriors' assist numbers in the first round indicate they have been doing just that.
115: How many free throws the Warriors attempted in the series
In comparison to the 78 attempts by the Pelicans, Golden State made a living at the free-throw line during the conference semifinals.
Golden State, the NBA's best free-throw shooting team, made the most of its 115 free throw attempts in the second round. The Warriors shot 80.0 percent from behind the charity stripe with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combining for a perfect 30-of-30 at the line.
24.5: Stephen Curry's scoring average
After missing five weeks of game action with a sprained MCL, the two-time MVP made a triumphant return in Game 2 of the second round. In 27 minutes, Curry finished with 28 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field and 5-for-10 shooting from deep.
Though it has only been a four-game sample size, the All-Star guard is leading all players with 7.8 fast break points per game this postseason. As a result of Curry's transition scoring ability, teams must aim to play mistake-free offense to limit turnovers as well as bad shots.
76 seconds: The amount of time the Warriors trailed in Games 4 and 5 combined
New Orleans got out to a blazing start in its 19-point Game 3 win, prompting some to speculate if the Pelicans could push the defending champions to a six- or seven-game series.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr responded by rolling out a starting lineup of Curry, Green, Thompson, Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala in Game 4. The lineup change set the tone, as Golden State earned a wire-to-wire 26-point win.
Kerr stuck with that five-man unit in Game 5, and the Warriors trailed for a total of just one minute and sixteen seconds.
22.6: The Warriors' net rating in the third quarter
It's no secret: Golden State taps into another gear after the half. In the series, the Warriors outscored the Pelicans 145-118 in the third quarter alone. Golden State outscored New Orleans 27-6 in the first 6:28 of the third quarter in Game 5 to build a 24-point lead.
Curry (8.8) and Durant (8.2) combined to average 17 of the 29 points the Warriors averaged in the third frame during the series. Their third-quarter dominance has allowed the team to erase halftime deficits and blow close games wide open.