The New Orleans Pelicans will tip off a new era on Sunday, as they face the Golden State Warriors in their first game after under interim head coach James Borrego.
On Saturday, the franchise fired head coach Willie Green. He took over in New Orleans in 2021, guiding the team to a 150-190 overall record across five seasons.
The Pelicans began the 2025-26 campaign with an abysmal 2-10 record. Now, Borrego will attempt to turn things around.
Borrego served as the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets from 2018 to 2022. In addition, he briefly was the interim head coach of the Orlando Magic in 2015. He joined the Pelicans’ organization in 2023 as an associate head coach. He has a 148-183 record as a head coach.
The interim coach may have some additional help, as star forward Zion Williamson (hamstring) has been upgraded to questionable for Sunday’s game. The two-time All-Star has been sidelined since November 2 with a hamstring injury. In five games this season, he is averaging 22.8 points, 6.8 points, and 4.6 assists.
The Pelicans will look to snap a losing streak that extended to four games following a 118-104 setback to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
Trey Murphy III scored 35 points for the Pelicans. He made 13 of 21 shots from the floor on Friday, six days after sinking 15 of 22 to highlight his 41-point performance in New Orleans’ 126-119 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
“Just being aggressive,” Murphy said, per NOLA.com. “Also, a lot of film work. Just knowing defenses and knowing tendencies and also my teammates finding me in transition.”
Rookies Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen registered special individual performances on Friday. The former collected 19 points and seven steals, while the latter had a season-high 10 rebounds to go along with nine points.
For the Warriors, Stephen Curry appears to be fully healthy again after sitting out three games due to illness.
Fresh off 46 and 49-point performances, Curry will look to extend the Golden State Warriors’ winning streak to a season-high three games on Sunday when they visit the Pelicans.
Curry wasn’t at his best when he initially returned from absence on Tuesday, making just 4 of 13 shots in a 126-102 setback to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
The two-time NBA MVP got healthy in a hurry as the Warriors swept a pair of games against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.
Curry capped his performance on Friday by sinking a pair of free throws with 6.4 seconds left in Golden State’s 109-108 victory over the Spurs. That came moments after fans in San Antonio did their best to distract him, prompting Curry to playfully mock their gestures.
“I’m aware of everything,” Curry said. “It’s pretty fun. You have to find something to take the nerves out, and for me that’s just embracing the moment, smiling and having a good time.”
Curry, 37, has recorded 44 games of 40-or-more points after turning 30 years old, tying Hall of Famer Michael Jordan for the most in NBA history.
“That’s pretty cool, just from an individual accomplishment perspective,” Curry said. “To be able to be in that company and longevity is something that I pride myself on. So that was pretty cool.”
Jimmy Butler III, who scored 21 points on Friday, is 26-for-44 from the floor over his last four games.
–Field Level Media
