Oklahoma City Thunder @ New Orleans Pelicans
Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA | Game ID: 22301046
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NOP 34 24 32 22 112OKC 33 40 23 23 119
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Williams scores 26, Thunder rally to top the Pelicans 119-112 after losing a 20-point lead
NEW ORLEANS -- — The Oklahoma City Thunder lost a 20-point, second-half lead, but not their composure.
Jalen Williams scored four of his 26 points in the last half-minute, and the Thunder rallied with a 12-0 run during the final 2:31 to escape with a 119-112 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.
“We don't flinch,” said Thunder guard Josh Giddey , who scored 25 points. “You just got to be able to stay level-headed through a swing either way.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points, including a tying 3 with 1:29 left, despite playing through a sore quadriceps that he said has been “a little banged up” since a victory over Utah last Wednesday.
"Most of it’s just trying not to think about it, and just play the game, read and react, and do everything you can to impact the game in a positive way,” Gilgeous-Alexander said before walking gingerly out of the arena.
Zion Williamson had 29 points and 10 assists, and CJ McCollum scored 23 points for the Pelicans, who trailed 88-68 before using a 20-2 run to get themselves — and the crowd — back into the game.
Trey Murphy III’s 28-foot 3 and McCollum's driving floater gave New Orleans a 112-107 lead with 3:11 left. But the Pelicans did not score again, missing their final five shots.
“We were kind of stagnant and I definitely got to demand the ball more in those situations,” said Williamson, who did not have a shot in the final three minutes.
But Williamson stressed that he is gratified by the opportunity to have a central role in meaningful, late season games for the first-time after injuries sidelined him for New Orleans' past two postseason pushes.
“This is what being competitive is all about,” Williamson said. “These games are fun to play in. We didn't get the result we wanted tonight, but games like this, when I watch playoff basketball, this is what games look like — just down the wire, teams make runs and whoever stays the most disciplined gets the win.
"So, I'm excited for this stretch,” he added.
Chet Holmgren had 16 points for Oklahoma City, which won for the fifth time in six games to pull half a game behind idle Denver for the top spot in the Western Conference.
“I don't think we've really given up leads of that nature the way that we did tonight,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “But you have to be able to handle a lot of different situations in competition and I thought our guys just showed great toughness and poise in a pretty hostile environment against a very sharp opponent that had a lot of momentum.”
Murphy and Herb Jones each scored 16 for New Orleans, which lost for just the second time in eight games and fell out of fourth place in the West.
Oklahoma City “executed better than us the last 2 1/2 minutes of the game,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “Our guys battled. They know that sense of urgency has to be there from the start.”
Oklahoma City shot 62.2% (28 of 45) overall and 50% (10 of 20) from long distance in the first half, when it opened up a 15-point lead.
Williams had 18 of his points in the opening half, and his third 3 of the game gave the Thunder a 71-56 lead. Gilgeous-Alexander's 15-foot turnaround in the final seconds of the second quarter gave Oklahoma City a 73-58 halftime lead.
UP NEXT
Thunder: Host Houston on Wednesday night in the first of two straight at home.
Pelicans: Host Milwaukee on Thursday night in the second of a six-game homestand.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
OKCCH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
GH G. Hayward
IJ I. Joe
JG J. Giddey
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
JW Jay. Williams
KW K. Williams
LD L. Dort
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
NOPCM C. McCollum
HJ H. Jones
JA J. Alvarado
JH J. Hawkins
JR J. Robinson-Earl
JV J. Valančiūnas
LN L. Nance Jr.
NM N. Marshall
TM T. Murphy III
VA Valanciunas
ZW Z. Williamson
OKC/NOP the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur