On April 30, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued, and the Thunder, the No. 1 team in the West, challenged the Pelicans away. In this game, the two teams played very closely, and the score difference could not be opened, the Pelicans did not surrender on this, and the game was still very tenacious, but the final quarter suddenly became mute, and the Thunder opened up the score difference with a wave of 18-2 offensive, and the Pelicans collapsed directly. In the end, the Thunder defeated the Pelicans 97-89, completed the series 4-0, and advanced to the next round in advance.
The Pelicans had no way back in this game, and only a win over the Thunder could extend the series, falling behind 0-3 after the first three games. This time, the offensive state of both teams was sluggish, but the score difference was not widened, and the score was tied many times, and the Thunder led by 1 point after halftime. In the second half, the two teams were still inseparable, and the Pelicans began to take the lead with the cheers of the home fans, and the Pelicans led 71-70 after three quarters.
In the final quarter, the Pelicans started to exert their strength, Alvarado broke through, Keady hit a three-pointer, and Marshall responded to maintain a five-point lead. But then the Pelicans felt down, Holmgren scored under the basket, Keady hit 2 three-pointers in a row, the Thunder directly overtook the score, and Alexander broke through and scored. Jalen also scored three points, the Pelicans couldn't keep up with the rhythm, Jalen scored three points again, and a wave of 18-2 offensive momentum directly opened the difference. The Pelicans suddenly lost fire on the offensive end, and Alexander scored points to kill the game, and finally the Thunder defeated the Pelicans 97-89 to complete the sweep with a big score of 4-0.
The Thunder, who are No. 1 in the West, showed strong strength and did not fall into passivity because of their youth and lack of experience, and did not give the Pelicans any chance in the first round. This time, the performance of the Big Three was still excellent, and they combined to score 62 points, of which Alexander got 24 points and 10 rebounds, Jalen Williams scored 24 points and 8 rebounds, and Holmgren got 14 points and 9 rebounds.
The Pelicans lack Zion, and their strength is also seriously damaged, in the battle of life and death, Ingram was completely lost, only 8 points in 2 of 14, as the core of the team, such a performance is really too deadly. This time, McCollum did play a role, with 20 points and 5 rebounds on 9-of-15 shooting, Valanciunas had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Marshall on the bench hit 4 three-pointers to score 16 points.