PELICANS GROUND THUNDER
OKC couldn't quite over come New Orleans at home, losing 131-122
NEW ORLEANS — Maybe the matchup appeared too lopsided.
When applying Newton's First Law, the Thunder seemed destined to roll right over the Pelicans and into the All-Star Break.
Basketball, however is not pure physics, and Oklahoma City lost 131-122 to New Orleans on Thursday.
Two nights earlier, the Pelicans (26-33) were blown out 118-88 by the Magic. The Thunder (37-20) entered play Thursday with 11 wins in its previous 12 games. Despite all that, Russell Westbrook seemed like OKC's last hope in the final minutes of a sloppy game. His 44 points on 30 shots and his NBA-record 11th straight triple-double couldn't save the day.
“We did not have the pop, in my opinion, that we needed to have,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “I think our guys were trying. We didn't have it in some spots tonight. And I think that's part of it. But I think Russ, as he always does, he was trying to will those guys at timeouts and get our team to fight.”
With 25 seconds left in Thursday's loss, Westbrook dove to the floor after a loose
ball, the second time he had done so in as many possessions. But this time, unlike the last, the ball slipped from his fingers.
OKC was forced to foul Julius Randle with the Pelicans leading 127-122. Luckily for the Thunder, he missed both free throws. Not so luckily for the Thunder, after grabbing a rebound and setting up for an in-bound play, Steven Adams was called for an offensive foul.
Amid a spree of intentional fouls, Paul George got a shot off from the right corner. He missed.
It was a shot George, who finished the night shooting 11-of-29 from the field, usually made. Not Thursday night.
The matchup had theoretically tilted even further in the Thunder's favor to start the second half. After an uninspired first half, the Thunder trailed by just three points heading into the intermission. Then the Pelicans announced that Anthony Davis would not be returning in the second half due to a left shoulder injury.
Maybe it was because the Pelicans had just started reincorporating Davis after his recent return from a finger injury. Maybe it was in spite of them losing their best player. The Pelicans stretched their lead to as many as 17 points in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, George's 3-point shot rattled around the rim and flew back out.
Two minutes later, Westbrook subbed in and hit a 3-pointer a few feet away from spot George had just missed from.
That 3-pointer by Westbrook, with 8:25 left in the fourth quarter, cut the Pelicans' lead to 110102. But the Thunder's defense, its bread and butter, couldn't hold New Orleans long enough to overtake them.
“We've got to be a team that hangs our hat on the defense,” Donovan said, “because what happens when you are in a position
where you don't shoot the ball particularly well on a given night?”
The Thunder had a chance to change the course of the game back in the second quarter. Center Nerlens Noel's quick eight points at the end of the first had helped the Thunder tie the game heading into the second. But the avalanche of points or stops never came.