OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Brandon Ingram scored 34 factors and the New Orleans Pelicans outlasted the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-100 on Monday evening.
Ingram made 14 of 24 area objective makes an attempt and helped New Orleans win although high-scoring guard CJ McCollum sat out with a sprained proper ankle.
“Brandon was phenomenal,” Pelicans coach Willie Green mentioned. “He can get his shot anywhere on the floor. You know, he was patient. … At the end of the day, he had a dominant performance, and we needed his scoring tonight.”
Oklahoma City had an opportunity to tie within the closing seconds, however Isaiah Joe’s 3-pointer bounced away on the buzzer.
Josh Richardson scored 10 factors and made 5 steals in his first recreation with the Pelicans since being traded from San Antonio.
“J-Rich was good,” Green mentioned. “You can see his veteran savviness on the floor. Makes great decisions defensively. … That’s part of what we wanted when we acquired him is bringing in another veteran who can score but who can defend who’s smart on the floor.”
Shai Gilgeous-(*34*) had 24 factors and 10 rebounds, Jalen Williams scored 22 factors and Joe added 16 for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault mentioned his gamers might want to regulate now that opponents are taking them extra critically.
“They know they have to show up against us, and that’s a good thing, but we’re going to get heavier and heavier punches, and we need to understand the mentality of the opponent for that,” he mentioned.
Ingram scored 23 factors within the first half to assist the Pelicans take a 60-51 lead on the break. New Orleans led by 20 within the second quarter.
“They were more ready to play,” Daigneault mentioned. “I thought they threw the first punch. They were more physical, more alert in the first quarter. And it took us a long time to get it going.”
Oklahoma City chipped away within the third. A steal by Josh Giddey led to a quick break, and Williams’ excellent behind-the-back move to Gilgeous-(*34*) led to a two-handed dunk that minimize New Orleans’ result in 72-71. The Pelicans took a 76-73 benefit into the fourth.
New Orleans scored the primary eight factors of the ultimate quarter, however the Thunder rallied once more. Oklahoma City gained possession trailing 101-98 with 35 seconds remaining, however the Thunder turned it over.
The Pelicans took a 103-98 lead with 9.5 seconds to play on a pair of free throws by Trey Murphy III. Williams went downcourt for a fast dunk with 5.3 seconds left, then the Thunder pressured a turnover on the inbounds move to realize possession and arrange the ultimate sequence.
Daigneault mentioned all of it got here all the way down to the best way the Thunder began the sport.
“You want to focus on controllables and the things that we can control and how we start the game, how physical we are, how alert we are from the onset,” he mentioned. “We can control that, and we allowed them to get into a pretty good rhythm there early.”
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Ingram scored New Orleans’ first 12 factors, all within the first 3 1/2 minutes. He completed with 16 within the first quarter. … New Orleans shot 65% within the first quarter to take a 33-25 lead.
Thunder: Gilgeous-(*34*) was named Western Conference Player of the Week for serving to Oklahoma City win two of three final week. … The Thunder began rookies Jalen Williams and Jaylen Williams collectively for the fifth time this season. … F/C Jeremiah Robinson-Earl returned after lacking 25 video games with a sprained proper ankle. He went scoreless in 18 minutes.
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
Thunder: Host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
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