Game ID: 22300121
New Orleans Pelicans @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at 7:30 PM ET
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
OKC 33 18 26 29 106NOP 14 29 35 32 110
NOP @ OKC ScoutingNOP @ OKC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
OKC availability going into 10/25 · season opener
full strength
OKC availability going into 10/27 · 1 day's rest
full strength
OKC availability going into 10/29 · 1 day's rest
full strength
OKC availability going into 10/30 · back-to-back
full strength
OKC availability going into 11/01 · 1 day's restNEW Dieng 10 to 16 min over the last 4
OKC availability going into 11/03 · 1 day's restOUT Micić missed 2 since 10/30, returns tonight: 12 min (101% of 12)
OKC availability going into 11/06 · 2 days' restBACK Micić back 11/03 after 2, 12 min since (101% of 12)
OKC availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's restBACK Micić back 11/03 after 2, 12 min since (101% of 12)
OKC availability going into 11/10 · 1 day's restOUT Micić missed 2 since 11/06, out tonight
NOP availability going into 10/25 · season opener
full strength
NOP availability going into 10/28 · 2 days' rest
full strength
NOP availability going into 10/30 · 1 day's rest
full strength
NOP availability going into 11/01 · 1 day's restNEW Ryan 14 to 22 min over the last 3
NOP availability going into 11/02 · back-to-backOUT Ingram missed 2 since 10/30, out tonight
NEW Hawkins 17 to 25 min over the last 4
NEW Ryan 14 to 22 min over the last 4
NOP availability going into 11/04 · 1 day's restOUT Ingram missed 3 since 10/30, returns tonight: 32 min (95% of 33)
NEW Hawkins 17 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 24 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/06 · 1 day's restBACK Ingram back 11/04 after 3, 32 min since (95% of 33)
NEW Hawkins 17 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 25 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's restBACK Ingram back 11/04 after 3, 34 min since (102% of 33)
NEW Hawkins 17 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 25 min over the last 5
10/25 @ CHI 124-104 — OKC notes
OKC won 124-104. OKC shot 55% (45 of 82) to CHI's 41%, 19 of 39 from three. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 31 (12 of 18, 2 of 5 from three); Williams added 16, Giddey 16. The hinge was Q4, 33-22: a lead of 9 became 20. Gilgeous-Alexander was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
10/27 @ CLE 108-105 — OKC notes
OKC won 108-105. OKC shot 46% (40 of 87) to CLE's 41%, 13 of 26 from three. OKC turned it over 18 times to CLE's 13, and CLE turned those into 10 steals. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 34 (15 of 26); Dort added 25, Holmgren 16. The hinge was Q1, 31-26: from level to 5 ahead, and the lead reached 15. Joe was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
10/29 vs DEN 95-128 — OKC notes
OKC lost 95-128. OKC shot 41% (37 of 90) to DEN's 60%, 6 of 32 from three. The glass went 29-48 against them. Holmgren led with 19 (7 of 12, 1 of 4 from three); Williams added 13, Mann 12. Q3 was theirs, 24-28, but the other 3 periods went 100-71 against them. Holmgren's -23 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/30 vs DET 124-112 — OKC notes
OKC won 124-112. OKC shot 53% (44 of 83) to DET's 43%, 13 of 29 from three. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 32 (11 of 23, 1 of 3 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Giddey added 21, Williams 19. The hinge was Q1, 33-21: from level to 12 ahead, and the lead reached 21. Gilgeous-Alexander was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
11/01 vs NOP 106-110 — OKC notes
OKC lost 106-110. OKC shot 43% (38 of 88) to NOP's 39%, 7 of 34 from three. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 20 (8 of 20, 0 of 5 from three); Holmgren added 19, Williams 18. Q1 was theirs, 33-14, but the other 3 periods went 96-73 against them. They led by as many as 22. Dieng's -11 in 12 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/03 vs GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 112, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 25 and Jal. Williams at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. Golden State comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 104, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 20 free throws a game; Curry at 31 and Thompson at 16 a game. That is 4 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: Golden State wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Golden State has been plus-1 a night and OKC minus-5 and the defense, Golden State allowing 104 a night to OKC's 112. Call it Golden State 111, OKC 109, OKC keeping it close.
11/06 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 119, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 24 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 23 and Holmgren at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. 2 days' rest. Atlanta comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Murray at 24 and Young at 21 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Fernando (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Atlanta wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Atlanta has been plus-9 a night and OKC minus-6. Call it Atlanta 120, OKC 116, OKC keeping it close.
11/08 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 122, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 25 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 22 and Holmgren at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 110, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 31 and LeVert at 18 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-0 a night and OKC minus-8 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 110 a night to OKC's 122. Call it OKC 115, Cleveland 112, Cleveland keeping it close.
11/10 @ SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 115, shooting 43 percent and 32 from three, 25 free throws a game; Monk at 17 and Sabonis at 16 a game. Without Fox (4 straight). One day's rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 120, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 31 and Jal. Williams at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, OKC at 39 percent from three to Sacramento's 32 and the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-1 a night and OKC minus-4. Call it OKC 117, Sacramento 116, Sacramento keeping it close.
10/25 @ MEM 111-104 — NOP notes
NOP won 111-104. NOP shot 47% (40 of 85) to MEM's 42%, 14 of 32 from three. NOP turned it over 21 times to MEM's 13, and MEM turned those into 8 steals. The glass went 52-37 for them. McCollum led with 24 (8 of 16, 6 of 11 from three); Williamson added 23, Ingram 19. The hinge was Q2, 32-19: NOP came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 10, and the lead reached 17. Ryan was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
10/28 vs NYK 96-87 — NOP notes
NOP won 96-87. NOP shot 46% (40 of 87) to NYK's 37%, 9 of 33 from three. NOP turned it over 13 times to NYK's 18. The glass went 43-59 against them. Ingram led with 26 (11 of 17, 1 of 3 from three); Williamson added 24, McCollum 12. The hinge was Q1, 26-12: from level to 14 ahead, and the lead reached 19. McCollum was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
10/30 vs GSW 102-130 — NOP notes
NOP lost 102-130. NOP shot 41% (38 of 93) to GSW's 52%, 10 of 39 from three, and went to the line 26 times to GSW's 20 — 16 points from the stripe to their 13. The glass went 39-64 against them. McCollum led with 19 (7 of 21, 2 of 8 from three); Williamson added 19, Hawkins 14. Q2 was theirs, 30-30, but the other 3 periods went 100-72 against them. Jones's -22 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/01 @ OKC 110-106 — NOP notes
NOP won 110-106. NOP shot 39% (40 of 102) to OKC's 43%, 13 of 42 from three. McCollum led with 29 (10 of 17, 5 of 8 from three, 4 of 7 at the line); Williamson added 20, Valančiūnas 19. The hinge was Q2, 29-18: the deficit went from 19 to 8. NOP trailed 43-51 at the half and won the second half 67-55. Hawkins was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
11/04 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 26 free throws a game; McCollum at 23 and Williamson at 22 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Ingram (3 straight). One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 117, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Murray at 22 and Young at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Mathews (5 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Atlanta wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Atlanta has been plus-3 a night and New Orleans minus-6 and the defense, New Orleans allowing 109 a night to Atlanta's 117. Call it Atlanta 115, New Orleans 114, New Orleans keeping it close.
11/06 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 104, shooting 52 percent and 36 from three, 18 free throws a game; Jokić at 28 and Porter Jr. at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 112, shooting 44 percent and 31 from three, 25 free throws a game; Williamson at 22 and McCollum at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 12 a night. One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-7 a night and New Orleans minus-12 and the line, where New Orleans takes 25 free throws a game to Denver's 18. Call it Denver 114, New Orleans 105.
11/08 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 102, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 29 and Reid at 17 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 122, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 25 free throws a game; McCollum at 24 and Williamson at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-3 a night and New Orleans minus-10 and the defense, Minnesota allowing 102 a night to New Orleans's 122. Call it Minnesota 116, New Orleans 105, Minnesota by 11.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
OKCAW A. Wiggins
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
IJ I. Joe
JG J. Giddey
JW J. Williams
LD L. Dort
OD O. Dieng
OS O. Sarr
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
NOPCM C. McCollum
CZ C. Zeller
DD D. Daniels
HJ H. Jones
JH J. Hawkins
JV J. Valančiūnas
KL K. Lewis Jr.
LN L. Nance Jr.
MR M. Ryan
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
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
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
McCollum scores 29 as Pelicans overcome 22-point deficit to defeat Thunder
OKLAHOMA CITY -- — The New Orleans Pelicans were inconsistent with their outside shooting, so they leaned on rebounding to rally against the Oklahoma City Thunder .
CJ McCollum had 29 points and 11 rebounds, and the Pelicans overcame a 22-point deficit to defeat the Thunder 110-106 on Wednesday night.
New Orleans scored 27 points on 22 offensive rebounds to make up for 13-of-42 shooting from 3-point range. The Pelicans won despite missing leading scorer Brandon Ingram , who was out with right knee soreness. They bounced back from a 130-102 loss to Golden State on Monday.
“Just challenging our group that we can be better," New Orleans coach Willie Green said. "We know it. And we got to dig down and carve out wins sometimes, especially with guys being out. Rebounding is a big factor for us. When we offensive rebound, it gives us extra looks. Right now, our offense needs it.”
McCollum led by example and set the tone, Green said.
“He really just trusted his teammates," Green said. "He trusted in the offense. He was sound defensively, he had 11 rebounds. Our team responded, and that’s what it takes.”
Zion Williamson added 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Pelicans, who improved to 3-1.
Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points, but he missed a 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining that would have given the Thunder the lead. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander slightly hyperextended his left knee during the game, but he played through it and was fine.
Chet Holmgren added 19 points and 11 rebounds and Jalen Williams added 18 points for the Thunder, who made just 7 for 34 3-pointers.
Holmgren said the Pelicans worked for their boards.
“They really put a lot of effort into it," he said. "That’s the biggest key with coming away with offensive rebounds. If you don’t put the effort in, you’re not going to get them.”
Josh Giddey scored 10 points in the first 6:20 of the game. The Thunder led 33-14 after one quarter as the Pelicans made just 1 of 12 3-pointers.
“In the first quarter, I thought they missed a couple of shots," Daigneault said. "We had a really good team rhythm going. I thought we did a good job defending as well. We made them go to kind of plan B, so to speak.”
Giddey got the crowd going in the second with a pass from beyond the 3-point line to Ousmane Dieng for a dunk that gave the Thunder a 39-20 advantage. Oklahoma City eventually pushed the lead to 47-25.
New Orleans started shooting better and cut into the deficit, but the Thunder still led 51-43 at the break.
“We did a good job early of really stopping the ball and not letting it find the shooters," Holmgren said. “And in the second quarter, they were able to do that. They found the shooters and they were knocking down threes. And the threes run the score up real quick.”
The Pelicans started the second half hot, and Jonas Valanciunas hit a 3-pointer to put New Orleans ahead 59-58. The Pelicans took a 78-77 lead into the fourth quarter.
New Orleans went on a 14-4 run to go up 92-81 before Oklahoma City rallied to make it close at the end.
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Host the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.
Thunder: Host the Golden State Warriors on Friday.