Thunder 106, Pelicans 85: Brandon Ingram 19 points | Game 3 postgame wrap

Top-seeded Oklahoma City spent much of the season at or near the top of the Western Conference standings, but didn’t necessarily garner the type of attention or respect granted to a club in that elite tier. Three games into a first-round series vs. New Orleans, the Thunder have shown exactly how formidable they can be, despite being led primarily by players age 25 and under. For a second straight meeting, Oklahoma City built a big lead and rolled to victory, this time spoiling the Pelicans’ first home playoff game since 2022. The visitors went up by 14 points at halftime and extended that to 20-plus early in the fourth quarter.

OKC defensive shutdown.
The Thunder ranked fourth in the NBA during the regular season in defensive efficiency and have looked every bit of that against the Pelicans, swarming Brandon Ingram in the mid-range area and making life difficult for CJ McCollum as well. With Zion Williamson sidelined, New Orleans needed big performances from both primary scorers, but neither have shot well or found any rhythm, outside of brief stretches.
Mistakes compound offensive issues.
As was the case during Game 2 on Wednesday, the Pelicans helped contribute to the Thunder’s defensive prowess with a combination of too many turnovers (21) and a rough early shot diet of difficult jumpers. The hosts threw several passes with not enough mph to avoid them getting stolen by Oklahoma City, accounting for some of the turnovers. New Orleans only managed 46 first-half points but had even more trouble generating consistent offense after intermission. "We have to be really sound in our execution," Pelicans coach Willie Green said, noting that interior passing in close quarters factored into the high-turnover count.
Game 4.
New Orleans will try to avoid having its season come to an end Monday (tip-off will be at 8:30 p.m. if Denver wins Saturday, but 7:30 if the Lakers prevail and avoid being swept). “We still have a game, that’s all it is,” forward Trey Murphy said, when asked how the Pelicans will approach Monday. “So you’ve got to try to win.” In NBA playoff history, no team has ever rallied back from an 0-3 series deficit to advance; only a handful of teams in that predicament have ever even forced a Game 7. New Orleans has only been swept once in its franchise history, doing so in 2015 against a Golden State squad that went on to capture the first of its four NBA titles over an eight-season span.

40/33: New Orleans shooting percentages from the field and three-point line in the first half, respectively, digging a big hole.
4: Games Oklahoma City has held New Orleans to 92 points or less this season, including all three playoff meetings. That’s only happened in two other Pelicans games (vs. Boston, vs. Lakers in Las Vegas) during the entire 2023-24 campaign.
28-18: Oklahoma City advantage in assists. NOLA veterans CJ McCollum and Larry Nance Jr. accounted for 12 of those 18 dimes.