NEW ORLEANS – That winning feeling that came over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night didn’t last long. The Pelicans were blown out on their home floor on Saturday, losing the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder 119-109 in front of a sparse crowd at the Smoothie King Center.
It was a tremendously disappointing effort for the Pelicans, who snapped their nine-game losing streak with a two-point win over the Phoenix Suns two nights ago.
Dejounte Murray led the Pelicans with a season-high 26 points. He also had nine rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Herb Jones finished with a season-high 24, and Trey Murphy finished with 16 for New Orleans, which fell to 5-19 on the season.
The Pelicans didn’t start like a team that wanted to win back-to-back games for the first time since opening the year with two straight victories. New Orleans turned it over six times in the first six minutes on the way to falling behind by 12 after the first quarter.
Oklahoma City built its lead by attacking the heart of the Pelicans’ defense. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 of his game-high 31 points in the opening frame, getting to the basket at will.
The second quarter was more of the same, as the Pelicans continued to play poorly on both ends of the floor and the Thunder were able to do whatever they wanted. Led by Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaylen Williams (27), and Alex Caruso (14), OKC took a 77-51 lead into the break. The 77 points were the most allowed by the Pelicans in any half this season.
At the half the Pelicans were outshot 67.4% to 44.4% from the floor, outscored 40 to 18 in points in the paint, and had just 9 assists on their 16 baskets. The Thunder rumbled past the Pels for 21 fast break points in the first 24 minutes.
On the first possession of the second half, the Pelicans were hit by the injury bug once again as Brandon Ingram fell to the floor clutching his left ankle. Ingram was helped off the court and into the locker room by his teammates, unable to put any weight on his left foot.
New Orleans went on a slight run, cutting the deficit to 17 points early in the third quarter behind a more aggressive defensive approach. However, the Thunder still led by 19 entering the fourth quarter.
The Pelicans had one more surge in them in the final frame, as they turned up the intensity again on defense and began attacking the basket. Murray cut the lead to nine after scoring a layup with under four minutes to play.
New Orleans began feasting on Oklahoma City turnovers, scoring 21 points off of Thunder mistakes entering the final 3:31. Unfortunately, with a chance to trim the deficit to seven or less, the Pelicans turned it over twice in three possessions, and the Thunder were able to extend their lead back to 14.
Now, the Pelicans must regroup quickly as they travel to San Antonio to face the Spurs for a Sunday back-to-back.
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