Game ID: 42300142
New Orleans Pelicans @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 9:30 PM ET
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
OKC 35 28 29 32 124NOP 22 28 24 18 92
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 4/10 · back-to-backOUT Hayward missed 2 since 4/07, returns tonight: 20 min (133% of 15)
OUT Dieng missed 11 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/09 after 4, 38 min since (109% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 36 min since (111% of 32)
NEW Giddey 24 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Joe 18 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Wiggins 16 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW K. Williams 14 to 20 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 12 since 3/22, returns tonight: 5 min (51% of 10)
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/09 after 4, 32 min since (92% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 30 min since (92% of 32)
BACK Hayward back 4/10 after 2, 20 min since (133% of 15)
NEW Giddey 24 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Wiggins 16 to 23 min over the last 5
NEW K. Williams 14 to 20 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restBACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/09 after 4, 31 min since (89% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 29 min since (89% of 32)
BACK Hayward back 4/10 after 2, 23 min since (153% of 15)
BACK Dieng back 4/12 after 12, 5 min since (51% of 10)
NEW Giddey 24 to 31 min over the last 4
NEW Wiggins 16 to 22 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/21 · 6 days' restBACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/09 after 4, 27 min since (78% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 25 min since (77% of 32)
BACK Hayward back 4/10 after 2, 22 min since (150% of 15)
BACK Dieng back 4/12 after 12, 12 min since (115% of 10)
NEW Wiggins 16 to 23 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/24 · 2 days' restBACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/09 after 4, 30 min since (85% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 28 min since (87% of 32)
BACK Hayward back 4/10 after 2, 19 min since (128% of 15)
BACK Dieng back 4/12 after 12, 12 min since (115% of 10)
OKC availability going into 4/27 · 2 days' restBACK Hayward back 4/10 after 2, 17 min since (116% of 15)
BACK Dieng back 4/12 after 12, 9 min since (87% of 10)
OKC availability going into 4/29 · 1 day's restBACK Dieng back 4/12 after 12, 9 min since (87% of 10)
OKC availability going into 5/07 · 7 days' restOUT Dieng missed 2 since 4/27, returns tonight: 3 min (34% of 10)
OKC availability going into 5/09 · 1 day's restBACK Dieng back 5/07 after 2, 3 min since (34% of 10)
NOP availability going into 4/11 · 1 day's restOUT Ingram missed 10 since 3/22, out tonight
OUT Marshall missed 2 since 4/07, returns tonight: 4 min (18% of 19)
BACK Alvarado back 4/07 after 5, 21 min since (115% of 18)
NEW McCollum 33 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Jones 31 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Murphy III 30 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Daniels 22 to 28 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/12 · back-to-backOUT Ingram missed 11 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK Marshall back 4/11 after 2, 4 min since (18% of 19)
BACK Alvarado back 4/07 after 5, 21 min since (117% of 18)
NEW McCollum 33 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Jones 31 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Murphy III 30 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Daniels 22 to 28 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restOUT Ingram missed 12 since 3/22, returns tonight: 23 min (71% of 33)
OUT Nance Jr. missed 2 since 4/11, returns tonight: 30 min (152% of 20)
OUT Hawkins missed 2 since 4/11, out tonight
OUT Ryan missed 2 since 4/11, returns tonight: 2 min (16% of 14)
BACK Marshall back 4/11 after 2, 4 min since (18% of 19)
BACK Alvarado back 4/07 after 5, 25 min since (136% of 18)
NEW McCollum 33 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Murphy III 30 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Daniels 22 to 29 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/21 · 6 days' restOUT Marshall missed 2 since 4/12, returns tonight: 16 min (82% of 19)
OUT Hawkins missed 3 since 4/11, out tonight
BACK Ingram back 4/14 after 12, 23 min since (71% of 33)
BACK Nance Jr. back 4/14 after 2, 30 min since (152% of 20)
BACK Alvarado back 4/07 after 5, 24 min since (132% of 18)
BACK Ryan back 4/14 after 2, 2 min since (16% of 14)
NEW Murphy III 30 to 39 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/24 · 2 days' restOUT Hawkins missed 4 since 4/11, returns tonight: 5 min (32% of 17)
BACK Ingram back 4/14 after 12, 30 min since (92% of 33)
BACK Nance Jr. back 4/14 after 2, 25 min since (124% of 20)
BACK Marshall back 4/11 after 2, 10 min since (50% of 19)
BACK Ryan back 4/14 after 2, 2 min since (16% of 14)
NEW Murphy III 30 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Alvarado 18 to 23 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/27 · 2 days' restOUT Ryan missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 2 min (19% of 14)
BACK Ingram back 4/14 after 12, 31 min since (94% of 33)
BACK Nance Jr. back 4/14 after 2, 21 min since (106% of 20)
BACK Marshall back 4/11 after 2, 15 min since (78% of 19)
BACK Hawkins back 4/24 after 4, 5 min since (32% of 17)
NEW Murphy III 30 to 40 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/29 · 1 day's restBACK Ingram back 4/14 after 12, 33 min since (98% of 33)
BACK Nance Jr. back 4/14 after 2, 23 min since (117% of 20)
BACK Marshall back 4/21 after 2, 21 min since (109% of 19)
BACK Hawkins back 4/24 after 4, 4 min since (23% of 17)
BACK Ryan back 4/14 after 2, 2 min since (17% of 14)
NEW Murphy III 30 to 40 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 96, shooting 50 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 26 and Holmgren at 15 a game. That is 5 straight wins. 2 days' rest. New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 42 from three, 17 free throws a game; McCollum at 27 and Murphy III at 23 a game. Without Hawkins (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 96 a night to New Orleans's 110 and the arc, New Orleans at 42 percent from three to OKC's 37. Call it OKC 116, New Orleans 107.
4/10 vs SAS 127-89 — OKC notes
OKC won 127-89. OKC shot 47% (47 of 101) to SAS's 33%, 16 of 38 from three. The glass went 62-47 for them. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 26 (10 of 18, 1 of 3 from three); Giddey added 20, Hayward 18. The hinge was Q1, 34-11: from level to 23 ahead, and the lead reached 42. Gilgeous-Alexander was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
4/12 vs MIL 125-107 — OKC notes
OKC won 125-107. OKC shot 53% (47 of 89) to MIL's 49%, 13 of 38 from three, and went to the line 20 times to MIL's 13 — 18 points from the stripe to their 12. OKC turned it over 10 times to MIL's 17. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 23 (7 of 21, 0 of 7 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Holmgren added 22, Wiggins 19. The hinge was Q2, 28-18: a lead of 7 became 17, and the lead reached 29. Dort was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
4/14 vs DAL 135-86 — OKC notes
OKC won 135-86. OKC shot 56% (54 of 97) to DAL's 33%, 14 of 34 from three. The glass went 58-41 for them. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 15 (5 of 11, 0 of 4 from three); Wiggins added 14, Dieng 13. The hinge was Q2, 43-19: a lead of 17 became 41, and the lead reached 58. Wallace was the night's best plus/minus at +34.
4/21 vs NOP 94-92 — OKC notes
OKC won 94-92. OKC shot 44% (37 of 85) to NOP's 39%, 10 of 32 from three. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 28 (11 of 24, 0 of 3 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Jal. Williams added 19, Holmgren 15. The hinge was Q3, 31-25: from level to 6 ahead. Jal. Williams was the night's best plus/minus at +8.
4/24 vs NOP 124-92 — OKC notes
OKC won 124-92. OKC shot 59% (46 of 78) to NOP's 45%, 14 of 29 from three. OKC turned it over 8 times to NOP's 17. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 33 (13 of 19, 3 of 5 from three); Holmgren added 26, Jal. Williams 21. The hinge was Q4, 32-18: a lead of 18 became 32. Holmgren was the night's best plus/minus at +32.
4/27 @ NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 42 from three, 16 free throws a game; McCollum at 24 and Williamson at 23 a game. That is 3 straight losses. 2 days' rest. OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 93, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 18 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 25 and Holmgren at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 93 a night to New Orleans's 115 and the glass, where OKC has been plus-4 a night and New Orleans minus-0. Call it OKC 116, New Orleans 108.
4/29 @ NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 98 a night and allowing 111, shooting 43 percent and 36 from three, 15 free throws a game; McCollum at 21 and Ingram at 16 a game. That is 4 straight losses. One day's rest. OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 92, shooting 52 percent and 40 from three, 16 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 25 and Jal. Williams at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 92 a night to New Orleans's 111 and the turnovers, New Orleans giving it away 16 times a game to OKC's 12. Call it OKC 114, New Orleans 105.
5/07 vs DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 89, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 17 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 25 and Jal. Williams at 19 a game. That is 5 straight wins. 7 days' rest. Dallas comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 99, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 25 free throws a game; Dončić at 29 and Irving at 26 a game. Without Hardaway Jr. (4 straight). 3 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 89 a night to Dallas's 99 and the line, where Dallas takes 25 free throws a game to OKC's 17. Call it OKC 112, Dallas 106.
5/09 vs DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 91, shooting 47 percent and 40 from three, 20 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 28 and Jal. Williams at 21 a game. That is 5 straight wins. One day's rest. Dallas comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 103, shooting 47 percent and 33 from three, 24 free throws a game; Dončić at 27 and Irving at 25 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 91 a night to Dallas's 103 and the arc, OKC at 40 percent from three to Dallas's 33. Call it OKC 112, Dallas 106.
4/11 @ SAC 135-123 — NOP notes
NOP won 135-123. NOP shot 57% (49 of 86) to SAC's 55%, 22 of 40 from three. McCollum led with 31 (11 of 18, 9 of 12 from three); Williamson added 31, Murphy III 27. The hinge was Q1, 34-23: from level to 11 ahead, and the lead reached 23. Alvarado was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
4/12 @ GSW 114-109 — NOP notes
NOP won 114-109. NOP shot 47% (42 of 90) to GSW's 47%, 20 of 38 from three. NOP turned it over 8 times to GSW's 16. The glass went 38-53 against them. McCollum led with 28 (10 of 21, 8 of 13 from three); Williamson added 26, Murphy III 24. The hinge was Q2, 45-22: NOP came in trailing by 9 and left it ahead by 14. Alvarado was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
4/14 vs LAL 108-124 — NOP notes
NOP lost 108-124. NOP shot 48% (41 of 86) to LAL's 55%, 15 of 37 from three. NOP turned it over 19 times to LAL's 14, and LAL turned those into 12 steals. McCollum led with 25 (9 of 19, 4 of 9 from three); Jones added 18, Nance Jr. 13. Q4 was theirs, 31-25, the deficit cut from 22 to 16, but the other 3 periods went 99-77 against them. Ingram's -28 in 23 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/21 @ OKC 92-94 — NOP notes
NOP lost 92-94. NOP took 11 more shots (96 to 85), fed by 18 offensive rebounds, but shot 39% to OKC's 44%, 11 of 39 from three. Murphy III led with 21 (8 of 18, 5 of 12 from three); McCollum added 20, Valančiūnas 13. Q4 was theirs, 24-20, the deficit cut from 6 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 74-68 against them. Alvarado's -6 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/24 @ OKC 92-124 — NOP notes
NOP lost 92-124. NOP shot 45% (33 of 73) to OKC's 59%, 7 of 26 from three. NOP turned it over 17 times to OKC's 8. Valančiūnas led with 19 (8 of 14); Jones added 18, Ingram 18. Q2 was theirs, 28-28, but the other 3 periods went 96-64 against them. Ingram's -30 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/27 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 42 from three, 16 free throws a game; McCollum at 24 and Williamson at 23 a game. That is 3 straight losses. 2 days' rest. OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 93, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 18 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 25 and Holmgren at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 93 a night to New Orleans's 115 and the glass, where OKC has been plus-4 a night and New Orleans minus-0. Call it OKC 116, New Orleans 108.
4/29 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 98 a night and allowing 111, shooting 43 percent and 36 from three, 15 free throws a game; McCollum at 21 and Ingram at 16 a game. That is 4 straight losses. One day's rest. OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 92, shooting 52 percent and 40 from three, 16 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 25 and Jal. Williams at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 92 a night to New Orleans's 111 and the turnovers, New Orleans giving it away 16 times a game to OKC's 12. Call it OKC 114, New Orleans 105.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NOPBI B. Ingram
CM C. McCollum
DD D. Daniels
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
OKCAW A. Wiggins
CH 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
LW L. Waters III
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
NOP/OKC 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
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 33 points lead Thunder past Pelicans 124-92 as OKC takes a 2-0 lead
OKLAHOMA CITY -- — Just a few days ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder looked like a young team struggling through their first playoff game together.
On Wednesday night, they looked like grizzled playoff veterans.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and the top-seeded Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-92 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Gilgeous-Alexander said the Thunder remained focused instead of worrying about outside issues such as other highly seeded teams struggling at home.
“I think it just goes back to us prioritizing winning,” he said. “And all those things are distractions that get in the way of winning. And every night, all 15 of us go to bed and want to win the next game, want to win the next day. And we do everything we can to do so.”
Chet Holmgren had 26 points and seven rebounds and Jalen Williams added 21 points for the Thunder, who shot 59% from the field and made 14 of 29 3-pointers.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 19 points and Herb Jones and Brandon Ingram added 18 each for the Pelicans.
In Game 1, Valanciunas had 20 rebounds, including nine offensive, and the Pelicans outrebounded the Thunder 52-44. On Wednesday, Oklahoma City outrebounded New Orleans 37-35 and held the Pelicans to eight offensive boards.
The Pelicans continued to struggle on offense without top scorer Zion Williamson , who remained out with a strained left hamstring. Ingram, New Orleans' No. 2 scorer in the regular season, got off just 10 shots in Game 2 as Oklahoma City's Lu Dort harassed him throughout the night. Ingram made just 5 of 17 field goals in Game 1.
The Thunder also scored 22 points off New Orleans’ 18 turnovers.
Game 3 is Saturday in New Orleans.
“Now, the challenge is to continue to grow and learn and improve with the series because the Pelicans are going to improve," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "They’re a good team that’s going home and they’re well coached. They’re going to get better. You know so we have to continue to get better.”
The pace picked up significantly from Sunday's game, which Oklahoma City won 94-92 . The Thunder, who averaged 120.1 points in the regular season, were much more comfortable with it.
“In the first game, I thought both teams were kind of calibrating," Daigneault said. "And, tonight we had much quicker recognition of the way that they were guarding us, where we wanted to attack, and we got to those things pretty well.”
Valanciunas scored 11 points in the first three minutes, but Holmgren countered with 13 points in the first seven minutes.
Gilgeous-Alexander picked up where Holmgren left off. He didn't score for the first nine minutes, then scored seven in the final three minutes of the quarter to help the Thunder take a 35-22 lead. Holmgren's 15 points were the most by a Thunder rookie in any quarter of a playoff game.
“I thought they turned up the pressure offensively,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “They got some early 3's and that opened the floodgates up for them.”
Oklahoma City led 63-50 at halftime. Holmgren scored 20 points and Gilgeous-Alexander added 16 before the break.
The Thunder extended their lead to 92-74 at the end of the third, and Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren went to the bench for good with the Thunder leading 120-86 in the fourth.
“Tough one for us,” Green said. “Give them credit, they took care of home court. It was a dominant win for them. So we’ll get home, we’ll regroup and get back after it.”