The Pelicans are back against the Thunder
The Thunder, the No. 1 team in the West, may not have many people caring about them before the playoffs begin, but in the first round of the playoffs, the Thunder proved their strength, leading the Pelicans 3-0 and advancing to the Western Conference semifinals is only a matter of time. The Thunder's trump card is naturally Alexander, the league's top scorer today, averaging 31 points per game in the regular season, and his unsolvable mid-range jumper is a killer feature. Of course, the Thunder are not only Alexander, Holmgren and Jalen Williams, Alexander and Dort, can step up.
The Pelicans' talent is just as good, but Zion is unavailable and the first playoff game of his career has been delayed. After Ingram returned, he never regained his form, which is undoubtedly a huge damage to the team. Without two cores, no matter how good the role players are, it is impossible to beat the Thunder, who are the first in the West.
Last-minute wins
At the beginning of the first quarter, the two teams were evenly matched, with Alexander scoring 6 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists on 2-of-7 shooting, and also stepped on a teammate on the bench and sprained his ankle, and the team scored only 21 points in a single quarter. Ingram and McCollum both shot 1-of-4, but the team blossomed and scored 21 points in the quarter. After returning from the game in the second quarter, Alexander still couldn't find his form, but Jalen Williams scored 9 points and 2 rebounds on 4-of-6 shooting, Wiggins scored 5 points and 1 rebound, and the team scored 23 points in a single quarter, which is still not outstanding.
Ingram shot 0-of-3 and had only one point and one steal, while Murphy had five points, two rebounds and two assists, and the team scored only 22 points in a single quarter, and at halftime, the Thunder led the Pelicans by one point at 44-43. In the second half, Alexander found his form, scoring 10 points and 2 rebounds on 3-of-6 shooting, while Holmgren and Dort each scored 6 points, and the team scored 26 points in a single quarter. The Pelicans withstood the pressure, McCollum had 7 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, Jones had 7 points, 1 assist and 2 steals, Varland and Marshall each scored 6 points, and the team scored 28 points in a single quarter, successfully leading by 1 point.
In the final quarter of the game, the Thunder gradually gained the upper hand, Jalen scored 8 points in a row, stretching the gap to 11 points, Ingram hit a shot, Varland hit two free throws, Alexander responded with a jumper, Varan also threw a shot, Alexander hit one of two free throws, and McCollum continued to shoot, but it was too late. In the end, the Oklahoma City Thunder managed to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 97-89.
湖人旧将成累赘
The Thunder swept the Pelicans 4-0 and successfully advanced to the Western Conference semifinals, and the No. 1 youth team in the West once again showed talent. Alexander had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists, Jalen Williams also had 24 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, Holmgren had 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, Giddey had 14 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, and Dort also had 11 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Next, the Thunder will await the winner of the battle between the Mavericks and the Clippers, whether it is against the Mavericks or the Clippers, it will be a high-profile series.
The Pelicans ended the season, Zion's first playoff game did not come for a long time, and Ingram's performance in the playoffs was extremely bad, with only 8 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists on 2-of-14 shooting in this game. Maybe this offseason, the Pelicans will make a choice. McCollum had 20 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists on 9-of-16 shooting, Varland had 19 points and 13 rebounds, Jones had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, Murphy had 7 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists, and Marshall had 16 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist off the bench.