On April 22, Beijing time, the 2023-24 NBA playoffs are in full swing, and the first round of the Western Conference will start a key battle, with the Thunder hosting the Pelicans. The Thunder defeated the Mavericks in the final game of the regular season to lock up the No. 1 spot in the West with a 57-25 record. The Pelicans' journey to the finals had some twists and turns, losing to the Lakers in the final game of the regular season and dropping to 7th in the West. After that, he lost to the Lakers again in the first game of the play-offs, and could only compete with the Kings for the 8th place in the West. In the end, the Pelicans withstood the pressure and won 105-98, winning the opportunity to compete with the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs.
The Thunder are young, and the new Thunder three are also used to compare with Durant, Westbrook and Harden. From a talent point of view, Alexander, Jalen Williams and Holmgren are certainly not as good as the three predecessors, but they are also considered to be in the top ranks. But the playoff game is not entirely about talent, it's also about experience, and that's exactly what the Thunder lack. In this game, the Thunder played all the main forces, and Zion was injured on the Pelicans' side.
In the first quarter, the Thunder were clearly still adjusting to the intensity of the playoffs and never found their rhythm, with both teams having a high level of defensive intensity. An offensive approach that is usually easy to score is difficult to do in the playoffs. Every attack had to face close hand-to-hand combat, and the referee's whistle was particularly loose, and many confrontations were ignored. As soon as the two teams came up, they continued to hit iron and make mistakes, Holmgren took the lead in scoring 3 points from the outside, Jalen Williams and SGA scored 4 points in a row, and the new three young people all opened their scoring accounts. But after that, the Thunder fell into a scoring dilemma, and the Pelicans also had a difficult time scoring, and the two teams were tied at 17 in the first quarter! The Thunder shot 8 of 21 in the first quarter, and the Pelicans shot 7 of 23, and the shooting percentage was about the same;
In the second quarter, the two teams continued to fight, the Pelicans took the lead on the outside to widen the difference slightly; the Thunder outside line was inaccurate, resolutely impacting the inside line to cut points, the scores of the two teams were very tight, and they scored 16 points in 7 minutes; after that, the two teams continued to play stalemate, alternate points, and the halftime battle, the two teams fought to 43 draws; in this section, both teams made a lot of projection opportunities on the outside, and the shooting rate can only be said to be average; it is even more difficult to impact the basket, and both sides have strengthened the protection of the restricted area; the second half of the game will definitely be more stalemate, depending on the quality of the stars at the critical moment。
Yibian fought again, the two teams came up and hit the iron continuously, Varland drifted and shot, Dort scored 3 points and shot through the heart! The battle reached 50-48, the Thunder asked for a timeout; after the timeout, the Thunder returned a wave of 9-0 to open up the difference, and the Thunder gradually found the feeling of the playoffs! And the Pelicans' mistakes began to increase; CJ broke through the pick-and-roll to stop the bleeding, Murphy continued with a 3-pointer, and the Pelicans returned a wave of 5-0; at the end of the 3rd quarter, Joe hit a 3-point shot to end the third quarter, and the Thunder led by 6 points at 74-68. In the first 3 quarters, the two teams drew 11 times and took the lead 18 times, which shows the intensity of the game!
In the final quarter, Holmgren hit a rebound, Varland broke through to a layup in response, Aaron Wiggins broke through a layup and scored 2+1, the two sides went back and forth, and they fought around 3 points! Halfway through the quarter, the Thunder led by 4 points at 87-83; After that, the Pelicans tried to chase the score, Nance dunked in the air, and Jones hit a 3-point shot to equalize! Yingge hit a basket to overtake 2 points, directly stopping the Thunder; after the pause, SGA scored 4 points in a row to lead the team to overtake, and finally the Thunder held on to the victory, and the score was fixed at 94-92.
Statistics:
On the Thunder's side, 3 people made double figures, SGA scored 28 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, Jalen Williams 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, Holmgren 15 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 blocks, Dort 6 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, Keady 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block, Aaron Wiggins 6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists;
On the Pelicans' side, Murphy had 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks, CJ 20 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, Wallan 13 points, 20 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal, Yingge 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Jones 8 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and Nance 8 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal.