As the Pelicans end their road trip with yet another defeat to the Warriors, Zion Williamson.

The starting lineup for the New Orleans Pelicans’ regular-season opening against the Chicago Bulls last week included Daniel Theis, Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones, CJ McCollum, and Dejounte Murray.

Exactly seven days later, only one of those players  Ingram  was healthy enough to finish the team’s game in San Francisco.

Murray broke his left hand in his first game with the Pelicans. On Tuesday, McCollum sustained a hip injury, and Jones hurt his right shoulder. Theis exited Wednesday’s game with an ankle issue.

The hobbled Pelicans lost to the Warriors 104-89, their second defeat inside Chase Center in two days. Golden State was missing Stephen Curry, De’Anthony Melton and Andrew Wiggins. Its short-handed squad bested New Orleans, which shot 36.7% from the field.

The Pelicans (2-3) went 1-3 on their West Coast road trip and are on a three-game losing streak. They will try to get back in the win column against the Indiana Pacers on Friday, which is their first of four consecutive games at home.

In the Pelicans’ loss to the Warriors on Tuesday, they committed 24 turnovers. They did a better job of taking care of the ball and hunting 3-pointers in the rematch, but they didn’t get enough production from Ingram or Zion Williamson to keep the game close. 

Ingram scored 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Williamson notched 12 points on a 5-of-20 shooting performance.

Williamson’s scoring efficiency has been one of the constants throughout his NBA career. He is a 58.9% lifetime shooter. This season, he has already shot worse than 30% from the field three times. It has been jarring to see him misfire inside the paint, an area of the floor where is usually near-automatic.

The Pelicans appeared primed to go into halftime trailing by one point. Ingram made a 3 with four seconds remaining before intermission. But New Orleans lost track of Warriors shooting guard Buddy Hield, who got up the floor in time to make a 3 of his own before the buzzer sounded.

The Warriors quickly expanded their lead to double digits early in the third quarter. Trayce Jackson-Davis’ layup at the 9:19 mark increased Golden State’s lead to 11 and caused Pelicans coach Willie Green to burn a timeout.

Green chose to start Jose Alvarado and Jordan Hawkins at the guard spots. Hawkins led his team in scoring with 23 points, 13 of which came during a second-quarter flurry. 

To pull out of this losing streak, the Pelicans will need bodies back in the lineup. Jones avoided serious injury after a Warriors player landed on his arm Tuesday, a positive sign. McCollum’s long-term outlook is unclear. He will undergo medical imaging. 

The Pelicans also need their most talented player  Williamson  to rediscover his touch around the basket. He is shooting 36.4% on field goals.