At the start of the second quarter, both sides had their starters leading the bench units.
Green was sent back onto the court by Cole.
In the Warriors' interior rotation, Green had always been the core, and his contract was right there too.
Even though he had played rather poorly this game, Cole could hardly just stop using him.
By bringing Green back at several different points, he was also testing whether Green could still be used.
He got his answer soon enough.
The Pelicans failed to score on one possession, and Looney grabbed the Defensive Rebound.
After receiving the ball, Green went on a full court drive from the backcourt and finished with a Layup Made.
Harrell's catch-and-shoot layup was disrupted by Looney again, who was playing with some real toughness.
The Warriors pushed another Defensive Counterattack. This time, Green fired a Backcourt Long Pass to Thompson, who soared in for another two points.
The gap was cut to 12 points in the blink of an eye.
Cole nodded repeatedly from the sideline.
Green was still doing a pretty good job leading the team through the Bench Connection Segment.
Stevens walked to the sideline at that moment and reminded his players to get into their offensive spots.
The team's issues during this stretch were still mostly on the offensive end.
But the Pelicans' frontcourt set still failed to get going.
On one hand, the Warriors had converted several Defensive Counterattacks in a row after returning for the second quarter, and their momentum had risen.
On the other hand, Davis's absence had a greater impact at this stage. The Pelicans had no reliable finisher for their plays on the court.
The ball eventually reached Siakam. He drove inside with it, but the Warriors knew his shooting was unreliable and collapsed