It wasn’t a great game Monday night, but the Oklahoma City Thunder got the job done.
The Thunder are advancing to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time in nearly 10 years.
The Thunder used a late run to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 97-89 in Game 4 of the playoff series on Monday at Smoothie King Center. The win completed the series 4-0 and officially advanced to the next round of the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Pelicans won the sweep for the first time since 2015.
Thunder shut out Pelicans late
After a close game for the first 36 minutes, the Pelicans appeared to be able to escape early in the fourth quarter. They entered the period with a one-point lead heading into the final period for the first time in the entire series, and nearly pulled within seven points early on.
However, the Thunder quickly fought back with an 8-0 outburst, thanks in large part to back-to-back 3-pointers from Josh Guidy. They quickly pushed it to an 18-2 run and held the Pelicans to just one field goal, a CJ McCollum layup, for the rest of the game. New Orleans just shut down.
The Pelicans finished the period with just 18 points, but the Thunder clinched an eight-point victory, giving them their first series win since the 2015-16 season. During that time, they reached the Western Conference Finals, but were eliminated in the playoffs by the Golden State Warriors.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City to victory with 24 points and nine rebounds. Jaylen Williams had 24 points (11 of which came in the fourth quarter) and eight rebounds. Guidi finished with 14 points, making all four 3-point shots in the fourth quarter and contributing to the final push against Williams.
The Pelicans struggled offensively for most of the night, but Zion Williamson (who has been recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in the first game of the play-in tournament) watched from the bench. The team shot just 3-of-19 from the 3-point line in the first half, and Brandon Ingram entered the fourth quarter making just 1-of-10 from the field. He finished with eight points, making 2 of 14 shots from the field. The Pelicans did not score more than 92 points in any of their four playoff games. Williamson was aiming to return to the court later in this series, but if his recovery goes well, it will take him until at least Game 5 to play again. But now that doesn’t matter.
McCullum led the Pelicans with 20 points, and Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points and 13 rebounds. The Pelicans made just 8-of-34 shots from behind the arc and committed 18 turnovers as a unit.
The Thunder will advance to the second round and face the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers vs. Dallas Mavericks series. The series is tied 2-2 heading into Game 5 on Wednesday, giving them a few days of rest before the next series begins.
Either way, this series is sure to get even more competitive, but the Thunder don’t have to worry about that just yet. They got their first series win since the end of the Kevin Durant era, and that’s all that matters.
