Moses Moody buried a franchise-record-tying seven 3-pointers in the first quarter en route to a career-high 32 points, and the Golden State Warriors, despite not getting a basket from Stephen Curry until the third period, thumped the host New Orleans Pelicans 124-106 in James Borrego’s debut as interim coach Sunday night.
Following up on 46- and 49-point performances in a two-game sweep at San Antonio, Curry was harassed into just nine points on 2-for-11 shooting. Yet the Warriors still won their third straight as they continue a six-game trip.
Golden State was down 6-2 before Moody began his first-quarter barrage with a 3-pointer at the 9:53 mark.
He went on to add four more in the next four minutes, propelling the visitors into a 23-9 lead before hitting two more late in the period to cap a 21-point quarter.
Moody shot 7-for-8 from deep in the period, coming within one of Kevin Love’s record for threes in a first quarter, set in November 2016 for Cleveland against Portland.
Moody became the eighth in NBA history to make seven or more in a first period. He joins a list that includes Curry in February 2016 against Washington and Klay Thompson for Dallas against Washington last January.
Moody finished 8-for-12 on threes and 10-for-16 overall in surpassing his previous high of 30 points, which he had at Denver in March 2022.
Jimmy Butler III complemented Moody’s historic effort with an 18-point, 10-assist double-double, while Brandin Podziemski chipped in with 19 points off the bench and Buddy Hield had 11.
Draymond Green aided the Golden State cause with a game-high 10 rebounds to go with eight points, six assists and two steals.
Playing for the first time since Willie Green was fired as coach Saturday, the Pelicans were paced by Trey Murphy III’s 20 points and Jose Alvarado’s 18.
Jeremiah Fears chipped in with 17 points and Saddiq Bey had 11 for New Orleans, which trailed 44-28 after one quarter and never got closer than four after that en route to its fifth straight defeat.
