The host Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 124-92 on Wednesday to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round playoff series. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points, while Chet Holmgren added 26.
Oklahoma City leads a playoff series 2-0 for the first time since the first round of the 2013 tournament. The best-of-seven series’ third game is scheduled for this Saturday in New Orleans.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored the most points he has ever scored in a postseason game, going 13 of 19 from the field. The Thunder shot 59 percent from the field, with Holmgren hitting nine out of thirteen shots, including 14 of 29 (48.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
Mark Daigneault, the coach of the Thunder, stated, “I think it’s important for us not to get drunk on the final score.” “Shooting the ball like that is never guaranteed.”
After scoring 13 points in the Pelicans’ 94-92 Game 1 loss, Jonas Valanciunas scored the team’s opening 11 points and finished with a team-high 19. From a team-high 20 rebounds in the first game to just seven on Wednesday.
Herbert Jones and Brandon Ingram of New Orleans each contributed eighteen points.
After Jones’ three-pointer just over four minutes into the game gave the Pelicans their first points without Valanciunas, the club was ahead by two.
After that, Oklahoma City exploded for a 21-6 run that would end up controlling the game. New Orleans never got closer than eight points in the second quarter and never got closer than twelve points in the second half after the Thunder jumped out to a 13-point lead late in the first quarter.
In the first quarter, New Orleans was only 3 of 14 from the field, save for Valanciunas, who finished 5 of 7 from the field.
Early on, both Valanciunas and Holmgren, the Thunder counterpart, had a significant influence on the inside.
In the opening six minutes, the rookie for Oklahoma City made three 3-pointers, one of which gave Oklahoma City a decisive lead shortly after Jones’ trey.
Oklahoma City’s defensive prowess was largely responsible for their early offensive output, as they forced five turnovers from the Pelicans in the first quarter and scored eight points without committing a turnover themselves.
Coach Willie Green of the Pelicans stated, “A lot of the turnovers were the illegal screens that they called.” “I’ve never observed so many unlicensed screens. However, make no excuses.”
The Pelicans only managed six points off of Oklahoma City’s nine turnovers, while the Thunder finished with 22 points off of New Orleans’ 18 turnovers.
For the Thunder, Josh Giddey scored 13, Luguentz Dort scored 15, and Jalen Williams contributed 21 points.
With 3:29 left, the Thunder were ahead 34 points, and Daigneault introduced their starters to a thunderous round of applause.