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In the first round of the NBA playoffs G2, the Thunder hosted the Pelicans, and Zion continued to be absent in this game. In the first quarter of the game, Valanciunas played an excellent game to score the team's first 11 points and help the Pelicans seize the lead. Chet had a hot hand and scored 15 points to give the Thunder a 35-22 lead over the Pelicans at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter of the competition, the Thunder continued to expand the lead, while the Pelicans fell into a scoring drought, and the Pelicans recovered in the middle of the game, playing an 11-2 offensive to close the point difference to single digits, and at the end of the third quarter, the Thunder led the Pelicans 63-50.
In the rematch, the Thunder's offense continued unabated, and Alexander scored 12 points to help the Thunder stretch the difference to 20 points, and at the end of the third quarter, the Thunder 92-74 Pelicans. In the final quarter of the game, the Thunder played steadily, and the game lost suspense early, and finally the Thunder defeated the Pelicans 124-92, leading the series with a total score of 2-0.
Pelicans player stats: Ingram 18 points and 4 rebounds, Valanciunas 19 points and 7 rebounds, Jones 18 points, CJ McCollum 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Marshall 10 points, Murphy 8 points and 5 rebounds.
Thunder player stats: Alexander 33 points and 5 assists, Jalen Williams 21 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, Chet 26 points and 7 rebounds, Dort 15 points, Jogidey 13 points and 6 rebounds.
Eight facts that have to be admitted:
1. Ingram's performance collapsed, with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists on 5-of-10 shooting. In the absence of Zion, Ingram failed to stand up to save the team, the lowest plus/minus in the game was -30, the data could not reflect his damage to the team, painless scoring, completely unable to get rid of the defense, feeling no fighting spirit on the field, no heart, the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment, such Ingram could not become a big thing.
2. CJ McCollum played inefficiently, shooting 4-of-16 from the field, 1-of-5 from three-point range, and got 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. McCollum's offense is disorganized, and the defense is even more stabbed, and the Thunder hit him by name, and the defensive problems in the playoffs are infinitely magnified, and if McCollum can't score consistently on the court, it will really be a side effect. Three-point shooting is really practiced well, or don't shoot three-pointers, the advantages are not outstanding, and the shortcomings are obvious.
3. Valanciunas tried his best, Valanciunas played 22 minutes and scored 19 points and 7 rebounds. Wallan's offense is okay, but the defense is quite average, he can't defend it, he was beaten several times by Chet, it's really an offensive score, and he can't prevent it, but Wallan's performance is worthy of his annual salary of 10 million, but he didn't expect that Wallan, who was caught in trade rumors in the middle of the season, is the most stable player for this Pelicans.
4. Alexander Carry the whole game. He shot 13-of-19 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range to finish with 33 points, three rebounds and five assists. Alexander's mid-range shooting is really stable, today's three points are also opened, the hard solution ability is really strong, a few balls are left four or five seconds left by him to score, otherwise the point difference can not be opened, directly collapsed the Pelicans, this is what the Pelicans should look like, Alexander is also worthy of this year's MVP, the future of the league.
5. Chet played well, scoring 26 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Chet's offense and defense are integrated, not afraid of confrontation, played very hard today, had no experience in the first playoffs, today's mentality is much better, and the defense is tough enough, after the single defense completely withstands Valan, the offense flies Ingram directly and violently, it's too hard, and the inside line that can shoot three-pointers is terrible, although the best rookie of the season is Wembanyama's, but Chet is the best rookie in the playoffs.
6. Jalen Williams played efficiently, scoring 21 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Jalen Williams has made significant progress this season, integrating offense and defense, full of enthusiasm, not soft at critical moments, Alexander feels good at his paddling, Alexander is the one who can break the game when he is trapped, a sophomore player has this kind of strength, and the future will be a big thing, and Jayway can hit the All-Star next season. The vision of the Thunder draft is really good, and the new Thunder Three Less has been formed.
7. After the Thunder narrowly defeated the Pelicans in the first game, the playoff rookies in this game have adapted to the intensity of the playoffs, and beat the Pelicans by 32 points. They are No. 1 in the West, not soft persimmons, and the young Thunder may still struggle to challenge for a championship this season, but the future is predictable.
8. The Pelicans suffered a heavy defeat to the Thunder, falling behind 0-2 in the series. The Pelicans without Zion are limited in strength after all, and Ingram's performance is also disappointing, this Pelicans are likely to be in the first round, and if they want to go further in the playoffs or even compete for a championship, the Pelicans need to make a big adjustment in the offseason.