Thunder 97, Pelicans 89: Jonas Valanciunas 19 points | Game 4 postgame wrap

Shooting struggles and turnovers hampered New Orleans throughout its entire first-round series vs. Oklahoma City. The latter came back to haunt the Pelicans on Monday at the most inopportune time. The Thunder capitalized on critical mistakes by the home team in crunch time, turning a close game into a double-digit lead, finishing off a sweep over the No. 8 seed. Oklahoma City went on a 15-2 run to help close out the victory. Neither team could gain control for much of the first three quarters before OKC sealed the outcome. The Pelicans finished with just 22 assists against 19 turnovers, barely posting a positive assist-to-turnover ratio for the first time since Game 1.

The Knife and JV.
Naji Marshall and Jonas Valanciunas were undisputed positives from what turned out to be the Pelicans’ season finale. Marshall was often the team’s most productive player and showed up at both ends of the floor all game, finishing with 16 points in 22 minutes off the bench. He shot 4/7 from three-point range on a night when New Orleans needed all of the help it could get in that category. Valanciunas did his damage in the paint, frequently going head-up against Chet Holmgren and rolling to 19 points and 13 rebounds, in a modest 26 minutes.
Defensive battle.
New Orleans did not produce a quality offensive performance all series, but the difference Monday was that Oklahoma City also misfired on open shots, making Game 4 significantly more competitive and compelling than the prior two matchups. The Thunder only shot 43 percent from the field and 30 percent on threes, but that still bested the Pelicans (38 and 24). OKC also had a bad night at the foul line (15 of 24, 63 percent). NOLA’s problem was it generated 22 points or less in three separate quarters, including just 18 in the fourth.
Another step, but a tough ending.
New Orleans has gone from 36 to 42 to 49 wins over the past three regular season, showing tangible progress that has also somewhat tracked incrementally to Zion Williamson’s availability during that span (0 to 29 to 70 regular season appearances). The Pelicans undoubtedly have made major improvements while going from a play-in team amid a down West field in 2022, to coming within a whisker of a top-six seed in 2024. Still, in the playoffs New Orleans did not resemble the team that tied the second-best record in franchise history (49-33) from October to mid-April. Williamson’s left hamstring strain prevented him from making his NBA playoff debut.

10: New Orleans steals, an improvement from prior games, part of OKC’s 14 turnovers. Jose Alvarado led the Pelicans with three thefts.
50-44: Pelicans rebounding edge on Thunder. New Orleans couldn't fully capitalize on being more effective in this category for much of the series.
3:43: Rookie Jordan Hawkins’ minutes, after he had not been in the rotation during the first three games of the series.