Pelicans vs. Thunder
Oklahoma City's Thunder team has clearly amazed everyone in the league during this season's journey. Under the leadership of Alexander, they achieved a good result in the first place in the west, and the overall competitiveness is self-evident. In the first round of the playoffs against the Pelicans, they also have an absolute advantage. According to statistics, in the previous regular season, they not only had the third offensive efficiency in the league, but also ranked fourth in the league in defensive efficiency.
And in the opening game of the playoffs, the Thunder were able to stabilize the score lead in the final decisive moment, reject the Pelicans' reversal, and take a 1-0 lead in the series. In this game, they continued to be at home, accepting the challenge of the Pelicans, and still did not give the opponent any chance. After the two sides battled for four quarters of regular time, the Thunder's starting core clocked out early and was able to complete a 32-point victory with a score of 124-92 and take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Specific competition
In the first half of the game, the Thunder, who were playing at home, maintained an excellent state and widened the difference between the two teams one after another. Alexander played 12 minutes in the first quarter, shooting 3-of-6 and delivering 7 points and 1 assist, Holmgren even shot 100% in a single quarter, delivered 15 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and Dort, who handed over 6 points, 1 assist and 1 steal, helped the team play a 35-22 score and take a 13-point lead. In the second quarter of the matchup, the Thunder was able to continue to stabilize the advantage, ignoring the outbursts of McCollum and Murphy III, and once again played a score of 28-28.
Yibian fought again, and the Thunder team, which maintained the initiative in the lead of the score, could further expand the score difference between the two sides. In the third quarter of the game, Alexander shot 4-of-8 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line, delivering 12 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal, and Williams also had 6 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, helping the team play a 29-24 score and extend the margin to 18 points. In the final quarter of the decisive victory, the Thunder team did not give the Pelicans a chance, and once expanded the point difference to 30+. In the end, the fourth quarter of regular time was over, and the Thunder completed a 32-point victory with a total score of 124-92, thus bringing the series to 2-0.
epilogue
As the main youth force of the league, the strength of the Thunder team is truly incredible. In this competition, their starting five Tigers all scored double-doubles, and they also chose to clock out in advance, creating a feat of winning by a big score. Alexander played 35 minutes, shooting 13-of-19 from the field and delivering 33 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, while Williams also had 21 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, and Holmgren handed over 26 points and 7 rebounds. In addition, Giddey also delivered 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, and Dort, who handed over 15 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists, effectively relieved the team's offensive pressure.
On the other hand, on the Pelicans' side, who lost away and lost a city again, they also had 5 players on the team score double-doubles, but the efficiency was not very ideal. Ingram played 33 minutes, only 18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, McCollum only handed over 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, starting center Valanzionas, although he delivered 19 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, as well as Jones, who handed over 18 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and Marshall, who sent 10 points off the bench, could only helplessly enter the empty cut group.