Thunder Outlast Pelicans in Western Conference Thriller
Oklahoma City battled New Orleans' impressive comeback bid and pulled off a massive road victory.
In a game full of twists and turns on both sides, Oklahoma City’s offensive firepower won out. The Thunder outlasted a 20-point Pelicans comeback to walk out of New Orleans with a 119-112 win in one of the grittiest games of the season. Down by five points with under three minutes remaining, the Thunder had to dig deep. Shotmaking prevailed.
Josh Giddey played hero for the Thunder all night long, and without him the Thunder wouldn’t have survived. The third-year guard has quieted the naysayers with big performances in March, and Tuesday was no different. He totaled 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists on 10-of-14 shooting. He drilled 5-of-8 3-point attempts.
Jalen Williams was also a key catalyst and the leading scorer for Oklahoma City. His 26 points played a big part in the victory.
It was another slow game for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting. Before March, it felt like he was guaranteed 30 points a game, but he hasn’t looked like himself recently. Chet Holmgren couldn’t find his range from downtown but still added 16 points and nine rebounds.
Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 29 points and 10 assists, as CJ McCollum added 23 of his own. Lu Dort did a terrific job on McCollum, however, as he shot just 8-of-24 from the floor.
After an old fashioned beat down in Milwaukee on Sunday evening, Oklahoma City had no time to sulk. It was back to business once again, this time against one of the hottest teams in the Western Conference. Although Brandon Ingram was ruled out for the showdown, the Pelicans still had plenty of firepower to get up for a game like this.
It was another red-hot start for Giddey, who scored the Thunder’s first eight points of the game. He knocked down two triples in the opening few minutes.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who normally plays the entirety of the opening frame, mysteriously checked out at the 6:00 mark of the first quarter. The Pelicans followed that up with a mini run, taking a 32-27 lead with 1:32 left. Isaiah Joe helped close the gap with a triple to end the quarter, as New Orleans led 34-33 after one.
Because of the early exit to the bench, Gilgeous-Alexander started the second quarter on the floor. It proved to be a good decision from Mark Daigneault as the team’s star finally found a rhythm with two quick fadeaway jumpers. Before taking a seat at the 6:30 mark, he scored eight second quarter points.
With 5:10 left until halftime, Williams took the ball full court with 6.0 seconds left on the shot clock and drilled a step back 3-pointer to extend Oklahoma City’s lead to 60-46. That was the story of the second quarter, as the Thunder seemed to make everything thrown at the rim en route to a 40-point frame. At halftime, OKC led 73-58 behind 10-of-20 from behind 3-point range.
In the third quarter, Oklahoma City built a 20-point lead behind strong defense and transition offense. Giddey converted on back-to-back trips with a Holmgren highlight rejection in the middle. New Orleans wouldn’t go away though, battling back with a barrage of triples. McCollum, Murphy and Marshall all hit one, bringing the Pelicans back within eight. Daigneault wanted a timeout with 4:20 left in the third quarter and the Thunder in possession of a 90-82 lead.
The Pelicans eventually cut the lead to two points, but Oklahoma City weathered the storm. It was a strong sign of maturation to fight back even when the Smoothie King Center was erupting. The Thunder ended the third quarter with a picture perfect alley-oop from Gilgeous-Alexander to Holmgren and gave OKC a 96-90 lead heading into the final frame.
The Pelicans had all the momentum midway through the fourth quarter, as Williamson and McCollum took turns trading buckets. New Orleans tied the game up at 99-99 with 7:49 remaining. Just a minute later, the Pelicans took a one point lead.
Any ounce of momentum the Thunder had after Giddey’s fifth triple of the night was gone immediately, as New Orleans answered. Larry Nance Jr. threw down a monster dunk and Trey Murphy drilled a 29-foot 3-pointer to put the Pelicans up 110-107.
It looked like the Pelicans had the game on ice after a McCollum floater with 3:11 left to go up 112-107. The momentum was at a peak and the crowd was electrified. The Thunder had an answer, though.
Back-to-back triples from Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort went down, and all of a sudden, Oklahoma City was up by three. What seemed like a miraculous Pelicans comeback victory flipped into a deflating let down. The Thunder walked away with a massive Western Conference win in one of the grittiest efforts of the season.
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