NEW ORLEANS — Now that Stephen Curry is back to waving his magical right wrist and pointing three fingers to the rafters Authentic Austin Corbett Jersey , the Golden State Warriors are heavy favorites to dispatch the New Orleans Pelicans after winning the first two games of their seven-game Western Conference semifinal series in Oakland.

But the Pelicans, who have won 12 of their last 17 games at home, are taking a glass-half-full approach coming off a closer-than-expected 121-116 loss on Tuesday night as the teams meet Friday night in Game 3 at the Smoothie King Center.

There is some reason for the Pelicans’ optimism of stealing a game. After being crushed 123-101 in the series opener — a game in which forward Anthony Davis and guard Jrue Holiday combined for just 32 points — New Orleans hung tough in Game 2 and trailed by only a point midway through the fourth quarter.

The Pelicans are buoyed by the curious stat line emerging from the Game 2 loss: Even though New Orleans outscored Golden State 66-38 in the paint, the Pelicans could not get to the free-throw line. In the first two games, Golden State has a 59-20 edge in free-throw attempts.

In Game 2, Davis and Holiday never attempted a free throw — the first time that had happened since they began playing with each other five seasons ago.

“I just go out there and play,” said Davis, who scored 25 points in Game 2, about his failure to get to the line. “It’s on the refs to make calls. They said I didn’t get fouled, so maybe I have to go in there a little stronger and force them to call them.”

Veteran point guard Rajon Rondo expressed the frustration his teammates are feeling about the foul-shooting imbalance.

“Both of those guys (Davis and Holiday) shot the ball a combined 48 times,” Rondo said. “I think we were attacking, but that’s not an excuse. We got the shots we wanted. Our guys were aggressive, and things will turn, hopefully for Game 3.”

Playing his first game in more than five weeks since suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee, Curry came off the bench in Game 2 and scored 28 points in just 27 minutes. Golden State coach Steve Kerr said Curry would definitely start Game 3.

“Oh yeah Cheap Ronald Jones II Jersey , yeah, yeah,” Kerr said. “You don’t keep a guy like that on the bench for long. His knee is fine. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he hasn’t played in (five) weeks. So any sort of minutes restriction was only based on his conditioning. There was no-holds-bar in terms of his knee.”

The Pelicans are hoping they will be energized by a home crowd that helped them sweep through Games 3 and 4 of a first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers. New Orleans has posted an 8-2 record at home since March 18.

Coincidental to the Pelicans’ improvement at home has been the switch they made in the last month — going to the Smoothie King Center for game-day shoot-arounds instead of doing their preps at their training facility in Metairie.

“Practicing where you play, there is something to that,” Holiday said. “Being able to get a feel for the arena, the depth (perception) with the bleachers and the stands compared to our practice facility.”

Curry, a two-time NBA MVP, was a plus-27 in Game 2 while on the court for the Warriors, and no teammate was better than plus-7.

“He was Steph — he didn’t take long to warm up, that’s for sure,” Kerr said.

But Kerr said the Warriors are expecting a battle in Game 3.

“We played well enough to win (on Thursday night), but we’re going to have to play better in New Orleans,” Kerr said.

There’s a definitive answer every year to the question of who is No. 1 in the NBA draft.

But who is the No. 1 pick of all No. 1 draft picks ever? Or No. 1 among the list of No. 2 draft picks? Those are questions that have no definitive answer, except perhaps in a handful of rare cases.

Here’s a look at The Best of The Best – the top all-time NBA picks in each of the top 30 draft spots. The best No. 1 overall pick, the best No. 2 overall pick … and so on.

One note: This doesn’t include the territorial selections that were used through 1965 Jim Kelly Jersey Youth , which ruled out Wilt Chamberlain.

The list of top picks in each of the 30 draft slots:

1. KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR

Arguments for the best-ever overall pick could and should be made for LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson, among others. When in doubt, give it to the man who has more points than anyone who ever played the game and who mastered perhaps the most difficult shot to guard in NBA history.

2. BILL RUSSELL

You didn’t know Bill Russell was a No. 2 overall pick? Jerry West was too, and he’s The Logo for goodness sake, but the 11 rings make Russell the call here. Also, it’s time to lay off Portland. Sam Bowie wasn’t the biggest ”oops” pick of all time. Si Green was picked before Russell in 1956.

3. MICHAEL JORDAN

The easiest pick of them all. Except for Portland in 1984, when the Trail Blazers took Bowie No. 2 ahead of MJ. OK, now it’s really time to lay off Portland.

4. CHRIS PAUL

Dikembe Mutombo, Chris Bosh and Russell Westbrook were all No. 4s as well, but Paul’s body of work over 13 seasons and counting can’t be overlooked.

5. DWYANE WADE

Charles Barkley will think this pick is terrible. So will fellow No. 5s Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Scottie Pippen and Vince Carter. Wade’s scoring wins out.

6. LARRY BIRD

Second-easiest pick of this process. Only Adrian Dantley comes close, and he absolutely doesn’t come close.

7. STEPHEN CURRY

He will be the leader in 3-pointers Terrell Edmunds Steelers Jersey , by a ton, when his career is over. Fellow No. 7s John Havlicek and Chris Mullin merit consideration, but why wait?

8. ROBERT PARISH

As time goes on, people might forget how vital The Chief was to those Celtics teams of the 1980s. That shouldn’t happen.

9. DIRK NOWITZKI

Jordan was the only true candidate at No. 3, Bird was the same at No. 6, and Nowitzki stands alone at No. 9 as well.

10. PAUL PIERCE

Pierce and Nowitzki have haunted those who made the decisions at the top of the 1998 draft – where Michael Olowokandi, Mike Bibby and Raef LaFrentz went 1-2-3 – for 20 years and counting.

11. REGGIE MILLER

Kiki VanDeWeghe was a No. 11 pick and so was Klay Thompson, but Miller is the deserving call here. His shot was art.

12. JULIUS ERVING

Drafted in 1972 and didn’t come to the NBA until 1976, Doctor J ekes out the pick here over Chet Walker – a seven-time All-Star.

13. KOBE BRYANT

This could easily have been Karl Malone. But Kobe has five rings and an Oscar.

14. CLYDE DREXLER

The Glide was automatic for 20 points a night for basically his entire career. Apologies to Tim Hardaway.

15. STEVE NASH

Someday, this spot might go to Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kawhi Leonard. But Steve Nash going this low in 1996 should remind everyone how good that draft was.

16. JOHN STOCKTON

This is yet another reminder that Sam Bowie wasn’t the only mistake made in 1984.

17. DON NELSON

This was a difficult group, and Shawn Kemp was probably the better player. Nellie gets the call on total body of NBA work.

18. JOE DUMARS

There are some really good players at No. 18, including Calvin Murphy and the vastly underrated Ricky Pierce. Dumars’ role on the Bad Boys was invaluable.

19. TINY ARCHIBALD

When looking at No. 19 picks, two things stand out: Rod Strickland should have been an All-Star, and that Tiny was better than many remember.

20. LARRY NANCE

So consistent for so long, and now with his son in the league that means more people will get educated about Sr.’s game.

21. RAJON RONDO

Michael Finley and Ricky Davis also went this far down in the draft. Rondo was an absolute steal in 2006 – except he wasn’t a steal for Phoenix Michael Gallup Jersey , which drafted him and then traded him to Boston for cash.

22. REGGIE LEWIS

Still sad. Still missed.

23. ALEX ENGLISH

Tayshaun Prince was so good and World B. Free was as much fun as anyone, but English had about a 10-year run where he hardly ever missed a game and dropped about 25 every time he was out there.

24. ARVYDAS SABONIS

Officially, the hardest of all 30 picks. Don’t just look at his NBA numbers. Look at his whole career. He did things no big man was doing 20 years ago. Terry Porter, Andrei Kirilenko, Kyle Lowry, Sam Cassell, Derek Fisher, Latrell Sprewell all went No. 24 as well … good luck to whoever No. 24 is this year. There’s a legacy to follow.

25. MARK PRICE

Jeff Ruland was known as ”McFilthy” and became a good college coach, Tony Allen was a true defensive star, but Price’s game is too solid to miss here.

26. VLADE DIVAC

Now running the Sacramento Kings, Divac gets to pick No. 2 in this year’s draft. The guy he takes there would be well-served to learn from Vlade.

27. DENNIS RODMAN

Before he became a political operative, Rodman was as good at rebounding and defense as anyone in the game.

28. TONY PARKER

If he .