Chet Holmgren Heats Up, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Anchors in ...
In arguably the best outing of Holmgren's young career, he led the Thunder en route to its second win in the opening round on Wednesday.
Game 1 was an offensive outlier for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In Game 2, they corrected that as expected. Defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 124-92 behind a greatly impactful night from Chet Holmgren, the Thunder cruised on Wednesday night to claim a 2-0 start in the series.
Holmgren's 26 points and three 3-pointers contributed to a 48.3% night from three and 59.0% overall shooting night for Oklahoma City as a unit, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the team in scoring with 33 points and three 3-pointers himself on an efficient 68.4% outing from the field.
Oklahoma City countered its sluggish first quarter offensively from a game ago early in Wednesday night's game.
After a quick lead cultivated by the Pelicans by a swift start from Jonas Valanciunas – who'd end with 19 points and seven rebounds on the night – Holmgren's big game began as he responded with a 15-point quarter going perfect from the field. With seven dynamic points from Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder took off behind the audience's momentum and found a 13-point lead heading into the second frame.
Holmgren's hot hand stayed secure with him, opening the second with two quick jams and a free throw trip before Aaron Wiggins awed the crowd and caused a timeout from New Orleans head coach Willie Green. Oklahoma City had mounted an 18-point lead under four minutes into the third, with the Pelicans making little headway on the offensive front.
Murray III did start knocking down his shots though alongside CJ McCollum, as the pair as well as Herb Jones closed out the half with five threes between them. But it wasn't enough to make too big of a dent into the Thunder's lead, as a 55.6% shooting quarter from three and 58.1% quarter from the field combined with a 20-point half from Holmgren held their lead.
The rookie's explosive first two frames handed Oklahoma City a 13-point lead into halftime with Holmgren at the helm.
The second half opened with a scoring barrage from Gilgeous-Alexander, reaching his total up to 28 and 13 in the third alone to generate as high as a 23-point advantage. And with some more gritty plays by the Thunder superstar down the line, New Orleans seemed to just be withheld from gaining any sort of consistent momentum.
They weren't necessarily letting it get out of hand, but Oklahoma City had held control for nearly the entire game, and the team wasn't relinquishing it.
That seeped entirely into the fourth quarter, where the Thunder thoroughly dominated. An 18-point lead at the end of the third bloomed into a 30-plus point blowout by the end of the night, as Oklahoma City never looked back.
They'll set their sights on Game 3 in New Orleans at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday.
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