Back home, the Pelicans now have their backs against the wall and, trailing 2-0, they cannot afford to lose this Game 3 against Thunder.
The problem is that Oklahoma City is just a step above New Orleans in this series and, over the duration of a match, the NOLA players struggle to keep up the pace imposed by the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (24 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals), Jalen Williams (21 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists) and others Josh Giddey (21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists).
Race results: OKAY sign as in Game 2 a success with a river score (106-85) and here are now three qualifying points in the conference semi-final for the leaders of the Western Conference.
The 14-0 that kills
The meeting starts on a balanced basis, with the defenses quickly taking precedence over the attacks. 3-point misses accumulate as much as offensive rebounds or turnovers, but the score slowly increases (23-19). Note the premature exit of Jalen Williams, hit in the face during penetration against Brandon Ingram. Fortunately, he will return later.
The trend of the first quarter is confirmed in any case at the start of the second, even if the Thunder begins to break away little by little, with an effective bench but also the Jalen Williams – Josh Giddey tandem. The Pelicans held on as best they could, but they ended up conceding a 14-0, initiated by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort at 3-points, which left them KO at halftime (60-46).
The break does not allow New Orleans to (re)take off. On the contrary: Oklahoma City continues to bring down lightning at 3-points (Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey…) and defend the lead (Chet Holmgren), while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander presses near the circle. The gap is flirting with twenty points, despite CJ McCollum or Brandon Ingram doing their best to reduce it. In vain (85-69).
Certainly not always perfect, the Thunder nevertheless remain much stronger than the Pelicans, who continue to be punished after losing the ball and spraying 3-pointers. It was impossible, in these conditions, to catch up and the Williams/Giddey pair dealt the fatal blow. At +24, we understand that there is no longer any suspense and OKC logically folds the matter to turn to 3-0 in the series, therefore (106-85).
TO REMEMBER
– A run that changes everything. After generally going blow for blow for a quarter of an hour, the two teams broke away for good in the second half of the second quarter. The moment when the Thunder put on a terrible boost to increase the score from 40-39 to 54-39. This 14-0, the Pelicans will never recover and it is from there that OKC multiplied the winning baskets to punish the defensive mistakes of their opponents behind the arc. Opponents who were unable to hit the target from afar, in addition to losing too many balls and then conceding too many points.
– New Orleans must defy the statistics. After the Lakers and the Suns, it is the turn of the Pelicans to find themselves at 0-3 and we recall that in 151 attempts before this season, no team managed to go back to 4-3 to win their series. It is therefore an impossible mission, or almost, which presents itself to Willie Green's men, who are hard to imagine becoming legendary given their offensive weakness and the mastery of the Thunder on each side. Even more so without Zion Williamson, still injured…
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
