Sloppy Offense From The Pelicans Put Them In A 0-2 Hole Against The Thunder

New Orleans can't get out of their own way with another turnover-filled performance in a loss to the Thunder.

The New Orleans Pelicans fall 0-2 in their best-of-seven series with a 124-92 blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder jumped out to an early lead and kept the pressure on all night. Without Zion Williamson, the Pelicans offense looks outmatched against the Thunder's active defense.

Both teams started the game focused on the offensive end, with the Pelicans intent on feeding Jonas Valanciunas the ball early and often. Valanciunas scored the Pelicans' first 11 points, but the Thunder countered with their big man, Chet Holmgren, to match Valanciunas' production. Holmgren shot a perfect 5/5 from the field for 15 first-quarter points. This helped spark an 11-2 Thunder run to give them an early double-digit lead. Brandon Ingram's struggles continued for much of the first half. He had three turnovers in the opening period and only four points.

The Thunder shot the ball well from beyond the arc, which should come as no surprise since they had the best shooting percentage from three-point range in the regular season. OKC shot 7/11 from beyond the arc in the opening quarter, spearheading them to a 35-22 lead after one. They eventually pushed their lead to 18 points in the second quarter, before New Orleans went on a run to trim the lead to single digits. The Thunder turned up their defensive intensity, forcing ten first-half turnovers by the Pelicans, leading to 12 points off those turnovers.

Ingram continued to struggle even getting a shot off, attempting just two shots in the half. Jonas added a couple of buckets for a team-leading 15 points at halftime, but the Pelicans were still down double-digits, 63-50 at the break. Holmgren led all scorers with 20 points. 

Apr 24, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas (17)

Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Ingram finally got his offensive game going in the third quarter, scoring 12 points. It was by far his best quarter of the series, but the Pelicans turnovers continued to haunt them. They committed six more turnovers in the quarter and the Thunder capitalized by scoring 29 points in the quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 13 points to lead the Thunder, but the Pelicans couldn't cut into the OKC lead. While Ingram scored 12 points in the period, the rest of his teammates scored 12 points. The Thunder led 92-74 heading into the fourth.

Oklahoma City left little doubt about the outcome of the game by starting the fourth on a 7-2 run to give them their largest lead of the game at 23 points. The lead ballooned to 31 points midway through the fourth quarter before each team decided to empty their benches. Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 33 points, while the Pelicans didn't have a single-player score more than 20 points. New Orleans finished the game with more turnovers (18) than assists on the night (16), scoring less than 100 points for the second straight game in this series. 

The series shifts to New Orleans on Saturday for Game 3, but the Smoothie King Center has not been kind to the Pelicans against the Thunder. Oklahoma City has won four straight games against the Pelicans in New Orleans, but the Pels need a win to remain alive in the series. No team in NBA history has overcome a 0-3 deficit in the series to win, so Saturday's matchup is do-or-die for the Pelicans.