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.
After an uncharacteristic inefficient Game 1, Gilgeous-Alexander returned to his MVP form against the Pelicans in Game 2 with a highly efficient 30-point outing.
In 35 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting, five assists and three rebounds. He shot 3-of-5 from 3 and went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. He finished a plus-24.
The shot-making was breath-taking for Gilgeous-Alexander. He found seams in tight spaces against the teeth of the Pelicans’ defense. The drives to the basket resulted in points and the mid-range shot was in rhythm for the 25-year-old.
Gilgeous-Alexander got off to a hot start with 16 points in the first half. To put this game away, he had a monster third frame of 12 points. After Jones has historically done a nice job of limiting him, the MVP candidate had no issue finding his spots and using his footwork to get off shots.
Holmgren’s second playoff game started the same way his first one did — with a trailing 3-pointer for OKC’s opening bucket. This time though, the hot shooting continued throughout the first quarter.
Holmgren went point-for-point with Valanciunas as the starting centers were responsible for most of their respective teams’ offense at the start of the contest. He totaled 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the opening quarter, which included three 3-pointers.
In 29 minutes, Holmgren had 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting, seven rebounds and two blocks. He shot 3-of-6 from 3 and went 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. He was a plus-32.
“I thought he just had great recognition and a great feel for how they were covering him and what he needed to do to kinda free us up and free himself up,” Daigneault said about Holmgren.
Gilgeous-Alexander added: “He was really good. He was in actions, got out of them. Put their defense in a bind almost all night. He was making shots, putting it down. He was A-plus tonight for sure.”
It was a stellar performance by the 21-year-old, who’s enjoyed the extra downtime between playoff games after toughing out a full 82-game campaign. He limited Valanciunas after the first quarter and the Pelicans failed to put up points.
Poking the ball out of McCollum, Williams created a steal and was immediately fouled as the 32-year-old tried to recover from the turnover. He stayed on the ground for a moment as he yelled his lungs out with the crowd barking back at him.
Through two home playoff games, it’s clear Williams has been the emotional leader for the Thunder. Each time he does anything positive, the crowd barks in unison. In Game 2, most of the crowd went home hoarse because of this.
In 35 minutes, Williams finished with 21 points on 10-of-17 shooting, seven assists and five rebounds. He shot 1-of-3 from 3 and was a plus-30.
A 15-point second half by Williams helped blow this open for the Thunder. He was busy in traffic with an 8-of-12 night inside the paint. The 23-year-old navigated through the interior with the ball and was excellent at creating open looks with his off-ball movement.
This was a monster performance by the second-year wing. Williams helped round out a statement outing for OKC’s trio. The first of likely many with the Thunder.
Shadowing Ingram, Dort made the one-time All-Star’s life on the court difficult. Through two games, Ingram has struggled with 15 points on 37% shooting.
Dort deserves a huge portion of the credit for blanketing Ingram by hounding him in their matchups. He refused to allow him to switch off by going over screens with his bulky build. The 25-year-old starter also contributed on the other side with a hot outside shooting night.
In 31 minutes, Dort finished with 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting and two assists. He shot 4-of-6 from 3 and went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. He was a plus-24.
If Williamson misses the entire series, the Thunder can continue to deploy Dort like this against Ingram. New Orleans doesn’t have anybody else on its roster who’s healthy and can get its own shot consistently enough to force OKC to rethink its strategy.
“Lu was on him,” Daigneault said about Dort’s defense on Ingram. “He was on his body early. Physical with him without fouling. Made him earn everything again.”