At 9:30 a.m. on April 22, the NBA playoffs kicked off! Who would have thought that the Thunder team played exceptionally bravely in the regular season and finally won the top spot in the league, which can be called the biggest dark horse. The Pelicans were full of drama and stumbling, and they still had hopes of finishing sixth in the league in the final minute of the regular season, only to fall into the play-in tournament due to a loss to the Lakers. In the first round of the play-offs, the Pelicans lost to the Lakers again, and defeated the Kings in the second round of the play-offs to finally get the No. 8 seed in the West. This time against the Thunder, is there any hope for a good black eight?
The first half of the game between the two sides was particularly intense, and neither pulled away from the other, playing two quarters with scores of 17-17 and 26-26 respectively. In the second half, the Thunder gradually widened the difference, but the advantage was not obvious enough.
In the final quarter, the Pelicans began to fight back! Holmgren scored on a rebound, and after Varland countered, he scored two points with a hook hand. Wiggins crushed a layup and made a free throw, McCollum missed a jumper, Varland made a foul and hit two free throws. Holmgren hit a three-pointer and put a three-pointer into the pocket! After that, the Pelicans sent a 7-0 surge, Varland made 1 of 2 free throws, and Murphy hit a three-pointer. Marshall made a steal, Ingram passed, and Murphy extended a three-pointer head-on. McCollum hit a three-pointer to chase a 3-pointer, and the Thunder took a timeout, and Alexander scored two points on a jumper, and the two sides continued to stalemate. Ingram misses a three-pointer and Murphy scores on a layup. Jaylin Williams hit a decisive three-point shot to stabilize his position!
As Jones set up a three-point gun and hit a strong shot, Ingram scored a layup and overtook him!
The Thunder had a slump and dropped points in a row. Alexander scored on a jumper to steady the tempo. Nance Jr. hits the iron, and Holmgren fills up the defense and sends a block. Alexander key 2+1 to stabilize the rhythm. CJ hit a 2-point shot and drew a foul. Holmgren hit 1 of 2 free throws, 2 points, Pelicans timeout, Thunder finished the game solidly. In the end, the Thunder withstood the pressure, completed the reversal 94-92, and rejected the Black Eight. Alexander had 28 points and Holmgren had 15 points and 11 boards. Jalenway was 8-of-18 from the field and finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. McCollum scored 20 points and Ingram scored 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting.