The Thunder fight the Pelicans again
The Oklahoma City Thunder, the first team in the West, did not give the Pelicans any chance in the first round of the playoffs, narrowly won the first game of the series, but created a 32-point tragedy in the second game. It can be said that in the case of Zion's inability to return, the Pelicans do not have any chance of the possibility of the Thunder, for the simple reason that Ingram, the other core of the team, has not yet found his best form after returning from injury, and as for McCollum and Wallan, although they can help the team, they cannot decide the outcome of the game.
It is not for nothing that the Thunder are the No. 1 team in the West, the team has the teenage talent Holmgren, as well as the two secondary attackers Jalen and Keady, and the most important link, the golden finger that changed the team, Alexander, the most inexplicable individual in the league today. Even though the Pelicans have a lot of defensive stalwarts, no one can limit Alexander.
3-0 match point
At the beginning of the first quarter, both teams did not feel ideal, Alexander got 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, Wallace had 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 2 steals, Jaylin had 5 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, the team only scored 23 points in a single quarter, and the Pelicans only scored 19 points, including Ingram 5 points and 4 rebounds, and McCollum made 1 of 8 shots with 2 points and 4 assists. After returning from the game in the second quarter, the Thunder regained their touch, Alexander scored 9 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, Jalen 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, Keady 7 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, and the team scored 37 points in a single quarter.
Ingram didn't score a point, Murphy and Jones both had five points, two rebounds and one assist, McCollum and Nance Jr. scored five points each, and the team scored 27 points in the first quarter, and at halftime, the Thunder led the Pelicans by 14 points at 60-46. In the second half, Alexander's hand declined, with only 6 points, 4 assists and 2 steals on 3-of-8 shooting, Jalen scored another 6 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists, and the Thunder had 25 points in a single quarter. Ingram found his groove and scored 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting, while McCollum also had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists on 4-of-7 shooting, but the team only scored 23 points, bringing the gap to 16 points.
In the final quarter of the game, the Thunder did not give the Pelicans any chance, Keady got 8 points and 2 rebounds on 3-of-3 shooting, Jalen also had 7 points and 3 rebounds, the team scored 21 points in a single quarter, and limited the Pelicans to only 16 points, Jones got 6 points and 2 rebounds, and McCollum did not score a point on 0-of-3 shooting. With the final whistle blowing, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the New Orleans Pelicans by 21 points 106-85.
Three less impact champions
After winning this game, the Thunder led the Pelicans 3-0, and the third group in the West was 3-0, I have to say that the top three teams in the West are indeed in another dimension, only the Clippers in the fourth place in the West are currently 1-2 behind the Mavericks in the fifth place in the West. Alexander got 24 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists, Keady had 21 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, Jalen also had 21 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, and the three young people combined to get 66 points, 22 rebounds and 19 assists.
Without Zion's Pelicans, there really isn't any advantage point in this matchup. Ingram finished with 19 points, four rebounds and one assist on 7-of-14 shooting, which is already the team's highest scorer. McCollum had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists on 7-of-22 shooting, Jones had 15 points and 7 rebounds, Murphy had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, and Nance Jr. had 9 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists off the bench. I have to say that this Pelicans team really can't pose a threat to the Thunder.