Player grades: Thunder dominate Pelicans with 124-92 Game 2 win
OKLAHOMA CITY — As Shai Gilgeous-Alexander committed a personal foul to check out with a little over three minutes left with a game-high 34-point lead, the MVP candidate received thunderous cheers on his way to the bench for their dominating Game 2 efforts.
The Oklahoma City Thunder was in full control in their 124-92 Game 2 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. OKC cruised to a 2-0 lead in its first-round series of the 2024 NBA playoffs.
“I thought we had great recognition of how we needed to attack tonight when they played their based stuff,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the playoff win. “When they went small, they played zone. We were prepared for both of those things at some point in this series… Really good 48-minute execution out of the team.”
The start of the contest looked like this game might’ve gone the opposite way. The Pelicans kept feeding the ball to Jonas Valaciunas with success as they built a 14-12 lead four minutes into the contest. The Thunder couldn’t collect stops at the infancy stages of this game.
Then suddenly, OKC flipped a switch and closed the opening quarter on a 23-8 run to create a controlling 35-22 lead. Both squads exchanged baskets in the second frame at 28 points apiece. The Thunder entered halftime with a 63-50 advantage.
In the opening minutes of the third frame, the Thunder went on a 16-6 run to push their lead to 22 points. A 29-point third quarter by OKC helped it enter the final frame with an overwhelming 92-74 lead. A stark contrast to Game 1’s 94-point total for the Thunder.
The Thunder enjoyed a stress-free fourth quarter and tallied 32 points. The Thunder cleared their bench and 13 players saw action, totaling at least three minutes.
The Thunder shot 59% from the field and went 14-of-29 (48.3%) from 3. They went 18-of-20 from the free-throw line. They dished out 25 assists on 46 baskets. All five Thunder starters scored double-digit points and were a plus-24 or better.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points on an efficient 19 shots. Chet Holmgren had 26 points and seven rebounds. Jalen Williams finished with 21 points and seven assists. Josh Giddey had 13 points and six rebounds. Lu Dort scored 15 points and played stellar defense.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans once again struggled to generate points without Zion Williamson. They shot 45% from the field and went 7-of-26 (26.9%) from 3. They went 19-of-21 from the free-throw line. They had 16 assists on 33 baskets. Five Pelicans players scored double-digit points.
Brandon Ingram was limited to 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting and four rebounds. Valanciunas had 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting and seven rebounds — including a quick 11 points in the opening minutes. Herb Jones had 18 points. CJ McCollum was held to 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting.
After two home games, the first-seeded Thunder took care of business against a hobbled eighth seed. Both wins swing the odds towards OKC to move past this series.
After the Thunder’s offense struggled in Game 1, they looked much more comfortable and sharp in Game 2 after moving past first-time jitters in the core’s playoff debut. It’ll now hope to at least split its two-game trip to New Orleans in Games 3 and 4.
“This is a good team that’s going to go back to the drawing board,” Daigneault said about the Pelicans. “They’re going home, they’re gonna gain confidence with that. They’re gonna play with great energy. We’ve got to continue to improve our attacks and improve our force.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
