On April 22, the first round of the NBA playoffs began, and the Oklahoma City Thunder met the New Orleans Pelicans at home. The two sides battled fiercely until the final moment to decide the winner, and the Thunder finally narrowly defeated the Pelicans by 2 points 94-92, taking the lead in the best-of-seven series.
Thunder: Alexander 28 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, Holmgren 15 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks, Jalen Williams 19 points and 7 rebounds.
Pelicans: Murphy 21 points and 4 rebounds, Valanciunas 13 points and 20 rebounds, McCollum 20 points and 6 assists, Ingram 12 points and 6 rebounds.
In the first quarter of the game, the shooting rate of both sides was not high, the Pelicans only shot 7 of 23, and the Thunder shot 7 of 20. At the end of the first quarter, the two teams were tied 17-17.
In the second quarter, the Pelicans made a three-point effort, and Murphy and McCollum led the team to an 11-2 offensive wave, and the Pelicans led 28-21 to seven points at 9:08. The Thunder responded with a 7-0 spurt, and the two sides were tied again at 28-28. After that, the two sides were deadlocked on the court, and the two teams were still tied at 43-43 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Thunder blossomed more and launched an 11-0 attack wave, and the Thunder led 59-50 to nine points at 6:24. The Pelicans responded with a 9-0 run in the second half, and the Pelicans outscored the Thunder by one point at 66-65 in the final 1:57. After that, the Thunder went on a 9-2 run to end the third quarter, and the game ended in the third quarter, and the Thunder led 74-68.
Murphy and McCollum hit back-to-back three-pointers in the final quarter to put the Pelicans up 79-82 at 8:54. In the second half, the Thunder fell into a scoring drought, and the Pelicans took the opportunity to take a 7-0 lead by two points, and the Thunder asked for a timeout. Alexander stepped up at the critical moment, and his step-back jumper and 2+1 gave the Thunder a 93-90 lead in the final 32.5 seconds. McCollum pulled back two points after a timeout, and Holmgren hit just one of two key free throws, leaving the Pelicans with one last chance to attack. The Pelicans missed the attack in the final moments, and the Thunder narrowly won 94-92.