Pelicans On the Brink Of Elimination With Game 3 Blowout Loss To Thunder

The Pelicans returned home, but the results remained the same in another lopsided loss to the Thunder.

Apr 27, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) / Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

New Orleans, LA - The New Orleans Pelicans are on the brink of elimination after a 106-85 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday afternoon. In what would amount to their biggest game of the year, the Pelicans laid a stinker at home. The Thunder controlled the game from the second quarter on and are one win away from moving on to the second round of the playoffs. 

The play on the court didn't match the energy of the crowd, with both teams struggling to shoot the basketball. Both teams went 8/21 from the floor in the first quarter, but six Pelicans' turnovers took possessions away. CJ McCollum shot just 1/8 from the field to start, scoring just two points. Brandon Ingram scored five points in the opening quarter to lead New Orleans in scoring. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored six points, continuing his strong play in the first two games of this series. OKC led 23-19 after the first period. 

New Orleans got within one point after a Jonas Valanciunas free throw, but then the Thunder went on a 12-0 run, highlighted by three straight three-point shots by Oklahoma City guard Lu Dort. Ingram didn't score a point in the quarter, struggling to create a shot on his own. The Thunder found their touch from deep and shot 5/8 from downtown. New Orleans is usually the team dominating the interior, but the Thunder won the paint in the paint edge 26-18 in the first half. Oklahoma City led 60-46 at the break.

Apr 27, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA;New Orleans Pelicans Forward Naji Marshall (8) goes up for / Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

New Orleans came out in the second half making their first five shots of the quarter. Their biggest issue was holding on to the basketball. The Pelicans committed eight turnovers in the quarter, leading to eight points for the Thunder. Pels' starting center Jonas Valanciunas did not start the second half and did not play any minutes in the second half. McCollum and Ingram generated the majority of the offense, scoring 19 of the 23 points for the Pelicans in the quarter. New Orleans lost another quarter to the Thunder, having only won one quarter in this series. 

The fourth quarter was more of the same, with the Pelicans not being able to generate any offense. New Orleans has scored less than 100 points in all three playoff games, the only team in the Western Conference to do that. Oklahoma City got balanced scoring, with three of their starters scoring at least 20 points. Josh Giddey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jalen Williams led the Thunder. No Pelicans player scored 20 points, and the entire New Orleans bench scored just 18. 

Oklahoma City forced 20 turnovers and scored 21 points off those Pelicans mistakes. New Orleans is averaging 18 turnovers in this series, and the Thunder have capitalized greatly off those mistakes. Monday night will determine the Pelicans' fate for the remainder of the season. A win and they survive until Game 5. A loss and their season is officially done.