The Oklahoma City Thunder went into Game 3 against the Pelicans in New Orleans with one thing in mind: win. After a rocky start, they locked in on defense, shots started to fall, and they opened up a lead similar to the one in Game 2. In the end, New Orleans had no response, and OKC was able to pull out a 106-85 victory to take a 3-0 lead in the series. Now the Thunder have a golden opportunity to finish off the Pelicans for the round 1 sweep.
New Orleans is still without Zion Williamson, and it’s definitely affecting what they do, particularly on the offensive end. Without Zion, the Pelicans don’t have a true bucket getter, primarily because Luguentz Dort has played lockdown defense against Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum has struggled to get it going. All in all, the Thunder have proven themselves to be the better team, and as long as they go about business as usual, they will head home with a few days of rest as they wait for their second round opponent to be decided between the Dallas Mavericks and the LA Clippers.
Tip-Off: 7:30 PM CT
Location: Smoothie King Center (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Television: NBA TV
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, New Orleans Pelicans Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Josh Giddey
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Chet Holmgren
Pelicans
- PG: CJ McCollum
- SG: Brandon Ingram
- SF: Trey Murphy III
- PF: Herbert Jones
- C: Jonas Valanciunas
Injury Report
Thunder
- NONE
Pelicans
- Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is QUESTIONABLE (sprained left ankle).
- Zion Williamson is OUT (strained left hamstring).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder are 35-21 against the Pelicans (17-10 at home, 17-11 on the road) in the regular season and 2-0 against them in the playoffs (2-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- The Thunder have won the season series with the Pelicans 10 times, tied it once, and lost it 4 times.
- The Thunder went 2-1 against the Pelicans last season in the regular season (1-1 at home, 1-0 on the road) and 1-0 in the play-in round of the postseason (1-0 on the road).
- The Thunder went 2-1 against the Pelicans this season (0-1 at home, 2-0 on the road).
- The Thunder are up 3-0 in Round 1 against the New Orleans Pelicans (2-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).