The NBA playoffs are always filled with excitement and intense competition, and the recent matchup between the Thunder and Pelicans was no exception. In a hard-fought battle, the Thunder emerged victorious with a final score of 97-89.
Both teams displayed incredible skill and determination throughout the game, but it was ultimately the Thunder who were able to come out on top. Led by their star players, they were able to maintain a slight lead over the Pelicans for most of the game.
Any NBA player will preach that closeout games are the toughest. The whistles get wild, the crowd gets crazy and the foe is fighting for their life. That was the story of Game 4 in New Orleans.
With the Oklahoma City Thunder owning a 3-0 lead over the Pelicans, the Bourbon Street boys came out firing.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points and 10 rebounds and the Thunder beat the Pelicans 97-89 on Monday night to complete a four-game sweep of their first-round playoff series.
New Orleans led 80-75 and had a chance to take what would have been the biggest lead for either team when Jose Alvarado blocked Gilgeous-Alexander and sent CJ McCollum the other way on a 2-on-1 break.
McCollum could not convert at the rim, however. Soon after, Chet Holmgren's putback and Josh Giddey's 3 tied it at 80 and ignited a decisive 18-2 run, capped by Williams' second-chance 3, that put the Thunder up 93-82 with 3:08 left.
New Orleans, which played the entire series without star power forward Zion Williamson, never recovered.
The Thunder held a 44-43 halftime lead in a game that was highly competitive through three quarters, with 18 lead changes and neither team leading by more than five.
New Orleans stayed close despite Brandon Ingram missing nine of his first 10 shots and 12 of 14 for the game.
Ingram's free throws with 3 seconds left in the third quarter gave the Pelicans a 71-70 lead at the end of the period, but he finished with just eight points when more was needed of him with Williamson out of the lineup.
With the Pelicans missing star power forward and leading scorer Zion Williamson for all four games in the series, New Orleans needed more from Ingram.
“Obviously, with the injury to (Zion) Williamson, that changed the complexion of their team coming into the series,” Daigneault said.
But the normally Ingram was largely frustrated by the physical defending of the Thunder’s Lu Dort.
“For Lou to kind of take that challenge and do that is huge for us,” Williams said.
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