Apr 24, 2024 1 min read thunder recap

Thunder stomp Pelicans, stay in command of series

OKC 124 NOP 92

Oklahoma City went up 2-0 over New Orleans, looking much more themselves than they did in Game 1: a #1 seed picking on a weaker opponent without its best player. After Game 1 finished too close for comfort, the Thunder overwhelmed the Pelicans and maintained a lead over New Orleans comfy enough for a Tempur-Pedic sponsorship. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set a new personal playoff scoring high (33 points on 13-19 shooting) and Chet Holmgren dominated on both ends, assuaging the team's frontcourt size concerns for a stress-free home blowout.

Jalen Williams tonight

21 PTS
10-17 FG
5 REB
7 AST
1 STL
+30 pic.twitter.com/H72g6EvSGt
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) April 25, 2024

Chet Holmgren tonight

26 PTS
9-13 FG
3-6 3PT
7 REB
2 BLK
+32 pic.twitter.com/hnHKGxNQw2
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) April 25, 2024

SGA put on a SHOW as the @okcthunder get the W and jump out to a 2-0 series lead!

⛈️ 33 PTS (playoff career high)
⛈️ 13-19 FGM
⛈️ 5 AST#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/cN28I1h21W
— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2024

Thunder go up 2-0 vs the Pelicans.

All 5 starters scored in double digits.

32 point blowout.

OKC crowd with back to back All-NBA performances.

Next up: Game 3 in New Orleans on Saturday at 2:30PM.
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) April 25, 2024

For the folks wondering how Chet Holmgren would fare against a physical big in the playoffs, here’s +/- through two games:

Chet Holmgren: +30
Jonas Valanciunas: -16
— Nick Crain (@CrainNBA) April 25, 2024