On April 25, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA playoffs continued. In today's Western Conference focus, the Pelicans played their fourth game against the Suns at home. In the first three games, the Pelicans trailed the Suns 1-2, so today's game was crucial for the Pelicans.
After the start of the first quarter, Ingram showed his good form, facing Ayton's defense, Ingram pulled out a jumper and then Ingram hit his first personal three-pointer of the day in the bottom left corner. In the second half of the quarter, Ingram hit another mid-range shot before causing Ayton to foul and hit both free throws. In one of the offensive rounds, Ingram swung past Crowder, who hit a back-and-forth from the basket in front of a two-man defensive pull-off to complete a brilliant 1-on-3!
In the first quarter alone, Ingram had 11 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist on 4-of-7 shooting. However, after entering the second quarter of the game, Ingram's shooting feel weakened. Two outside shots in a single quarter were all deflected out, and only three points were scored on free throws. At the end of the first half, the Pelicans trailed the Suns 49-51.
After the start of the 3rd quarter, Ingram quickly hit two consecutive mid-range shots, and then he hit a strong hit under the basket and assisted Valanciunas and Hayes to win consecutively, one of them scored six points in a row and delivered two assists, leading the team to a wave of 10:2 to surpass 6 points! Set off an offensive climax to overtake. In the ensuing round, the two sides quarreled, and Ingram also had an argument with Paul.
At the end of the quarter, Ingram opened the defense to complete the one-arm barrier against Craig, and then he roared in celebration. The Pelicans officially tweeted, "Are you kidding me? Ingram then received a pass from his teammate to complete the dunk again and made another layup. Throughout the third quarter, Ingram shot 7-of-11 and 2-of-2 from the free throw line, scoring 16 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists in the single quarter. Under his leadership, the Pelicans completed the comeback to end Quarter 3 with an 84-74 lead over the Suns.
In the final quarter, Ingram and the Pelicans played steadily, never letting the Suns close to the point difference. In the end, the Pelicans beat the Suns to make the series total 2-2! Ingram played 36 minutes today, shooting 11-of-23, including 1-of-5 from three-point range and 7-of-10 from the free throw line, for a combined 30 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists! Today is Ingram's 30+ in 3 consecutive games, becoming the first person in Pelicans history!
According to the schedule, the two teams will play the Battle of Tennozan on April 27, and the Suns will return to the home field.