Five days after snatching their place in the playoffs against Sacramento, Jonas Valanciunas (13 points, 20 rebounds) and CJ McCollum (20 points, 6 assists) allowed the Pelicans to get off to the best start while Oklahoma City missed seven shots in a row and loses three balls after starting 3 out of 3 (11-7). The Thunder's defense, however, allows them to stay in the game. They limit the Pelicans to 30% and nine points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander brings them back to a tie (17-17).
CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy III (21 points) then benefit from offensive rebounds from Jonas Valanciunas to adjust the sights from afar and pass an 11-2 to the Thunder (28-21). With Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench, it was Chet Holmgren (15 points, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks) and Jalen Williams (19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) who took their responsibilities to respond with a 7-0 (33-33 ). The two teams go blow for blow until the break to stay back to back (43-43).
What intensity in defense!
After a physical first half, Mark Daigneault's men raised their voice again. Their defensive intensity keeps the Pelicans silent for four minutes, they reverse the offensive rebound trend thanks to the activity of Lu Dort, and the Williams – Gilgeous-Alexander duo launches an 11-0 which puts the Thunder at +9 (59- 50)!
While Oklahoma City seems to have gained the upper hand, Trey Murphy III stops the bleeding and revives his team. The Pelicans move forward again, with a good passage from Larry Nance Jr, and Jose Alvarado, and respond with a 16-6 to regain the advantage (66-65)! Doubt in the Paycom Center, however, does not have time to set in. Jalen Williams allows the Thunder to finish the quarter with a 9-2 lead in less than two minutes to get back to +6 (74-68).
Chet Holmgren drives home the point and increases the gap to ten points with a winning shot (82-72)! As since the start of the meeting, the Pelicans are coming back. Naji Marshall steals two balls from the hands of Holmgren and Jalen Williams, and the momentum changes sides. The Valanciunas – Murphy III – McCollum trio brought them back into the game before an 18-6 gave them the advantage again with three minutes to play (90-88)!
After more than five minutes without scoring, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finally unlocks the Thunder counter to equalize (90-90). In the process, the Pelicans obtain three offensive rebounds but a block from Chet Holmgren gives a decisive defensive stop to the Thunder and with 30 seconds to play, Gilgeous-Alexander will look for a difficult 2+1 to put OKC on a favorable waiver (93- 90).
CJ McCollum will still have the match point at -2, but his 3-point shot at the buzzer is too long. The Pelicans can bite their fingers!
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Brandon Ingram and the leech Lu Dort. The absence of Zion Williamson is obviously a big blow for the Pelicans but it also makes Brandon Ingram's life much more difficult. The Thunder would have needed the physique of Lu Dort to defend Williamson. Without him, Dort can take care of the Ingram case and he played an impeccable role in this first match. He set the tone from the first minutes, not letting go an inch and using his linebacker physique to prevent him from making a difference by dribbling. Brandon Ingram finished the game with 12 points, 5/16 on shots.
– The Pelicans' offensive rebound dominance. Like Jonas Valanciunas (9 offensive rebounds) and Larry Nance Jr (4 offensive rebounds), the Pelicans tormented the Thunder on rebounds, one of the weak points of this OKC team. They grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and scored 24 points on those second chances. This is what allowed them to stay level with the Thunder in the first half despite their clumsiness (9 more shots), and to come back in the last quarter (8 offensive rebounds). Unfortunately, they were unable to capitalize in the last two minutes to kill the game, despite 3 offensive rebounds while they were at +2.
– Quick learning of Thunder. The youngest team in history to finish at the top of their conference, the Thunder experienced a baptism of fire for their first playoff game. Clumsy and dominated in the engagement in the first half, they were able to respond after returning from the locker room to pull away. However, they did not go far from the penalty area at the end of the match. They went more than five minutes without scoring and the trio Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Jalen Williams – Chet Holmgren lost 6 balls! Fortunately, for them they made up for it by each being decisive in defense and/or attack to achieve victory.
