Warriors vs. Pelicans: Score, Video Highlights and Recap from Oct. 31

It was the third 50-point game of Curry's career - only have hit the half-century mark three times: Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry - joining the eye-opening 54 he dropped on the New York Knicks in February 2013 and the 51 he served the Dallas Mavericks in February 2015. No Rocket in sight had an answer to elegant shooting by Stephen Curry. Then came the MVP award.

With white T-shirts on every seat, New Orleans showed up in big numbers and remained energized through most of the game. He even added a rare four-point play that gave Golden State a 105-89 lead. Langston Galloway added a three-pointer with 1:03 left to make the score 111-106. The most impressive part?

Reigning MVP Stephen Curry scored 53 points and defending champions Golden State won their third consecutive game to open the season with a 134-120 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday. There are ways that Memphis can hang with Golden State however, and keep it a game heading in to the fourth quarter.

OK, offensive weapon may be a bit strong.

Since that series, meaning the first few games of this young season, teams have not fully adapted this strategy. For all the negativity surrounding the Warriors coming into this season, as a team who was "lucky" to win it all a year ago, there was potential for all those distractions to knock him off his game. Despite shaky performances from the bench and inconsistent energy from the starters, the Warriors won by 14 with no one playing more than 37 minutes.

Dwight Howard did not fare much better in his season debut, scoring only nine points and pulling down seven rebounds.

Yesterday's Warriors victory is a good example of how Curry's start is going this year. Jeff Green finished with 13 for the Grizzlies.

This is where Memphis' favorite scapegoat comes in to play.

"He found himself a nice little rhythm in both of these last two games". Not this year. Curry was relentlessly aggressiveness from the start of the third quarter and made sure that there would be no tense final minutes.

If he can continue this pace, the Warriors are bound to have a lot of success this year. We came out, second half, and humbled them, and did what we do. Knight was close behind with 27 points, including four 3-pointers. He made 8/14 shots from beyond the arc and all 11 of his free throws. If this is how the Warriors perform on an off-night, the rest of the National Basketball Association should be very, very afraid. He also dished off nine assists for the still-undefeated Warriors.

"As incredible as he is, it's just never the same", Warriors forward Draymond Green said.

The Warriors actually play their next five games in Northern California, including next Saturday night's quick trip to Sacramento.

Curry playing with an even greater goal and drive is bad news for teams ready to take their best shot at the current MVP and champs.

That, and physicality on the defensive end, are the only ways to try to consistently slow down Steph. Pumping the team up into thinking they had a chance to win. A win tonight for Memphis is not likely.

If the Grizzlies truly want to see where they measure up in terms of those tiers of contenders, however, they must compete. If they execute and start fast, absolutely.

Remember when Jared Dudley said Carmelo Anthony was the most overrated player in the league? There will be others.