Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New Orleans Pelicans Round 1

On November 18, 2015, the Oklahoma City Thunder played the New Orleans Pelicans in the first of three games this regular season. The game was scheduled to be played at 7:00 Central Time, and was televised nationally on ESPN. It was played in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. These two teams are two that many expect to make it to the Western Conference playoffs, and are two teams with bright young talent who have the ability to take their teams all the way to the NBA Finals. However, this game was not expected to be as exciting as their next two meetings could potentially be, as both teams are struggling with poor play and injuries to their star players. Regardless of the circumstances, this was a pretty enjoyable match up, with both teams playing well, and it was a nice glimpse of what the rest of this series has in store.
Coming into the game, the Thunder had a 7-4 record on the season. They had lost their last two games since recently losing arguably the best player on their team, and the second best player in the world Kevin Durant. Durant had missed three straight games after suffering a minor hamstring injury against the Washington Wizards in a win for the Thunder. Before the injury Durant had been averaging about 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists in about 34 minutes of playing time. These were pretty good numbers for the star out of the University of Texas after missing almost all of last season due to a Jones' fracture in his foot. Fortunately for Thunder fans, such as myself, rookie head coach Billy Donovan has already commented that Durant's injury is not very serious and shouldn't be a major concern for the team or Durant.
The Pelicans did not have it any easier, though. They came into the game against the Thunder with an awful record of 1-10, and they hadn't even won a single game on the road. They had also been playing recently either without star player Anthony Davis, or with very restricted minutes from the young power forward from the University of Kentucky. Davis was listed day-to-day and had recently played 40 minutes in a losing effort against the New York Knicks, but he was restricted to just 6 minutes against the Denver Nuggets due to a shoulder injury. Davis had only played 9 games this season, in which he averaged 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 33 minutes, but he was not expected to play against the Thunder.
In the first quarter, the Thunder developed an early lead and showed their dominance throughout the first seven and a half minutes. However, the Pelicans would not be defeated that easily, and after a three-point basket by Eric Gordon, New Orleans took their first lead of the game. With some strong play by Gordon and teammate Ryan Anderson, the Pelicans ended the quarter on a 14-6 run and took a 27-21 lead heading into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Enes Kanter got it going for the Thunder, as they took the lead back with 7:07 remaining in the first half, prompting the Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry to call a timeout to settle down his team. The timeout, however, did not really help New Orleans, as they were still outscored 19-12 during the remainder of the first half. Going into the break, the Pelicans would trail the home team 53-45.
To start out the third quarter, Russell Westbrook brought the home fans to their feet by stealing the ball and breaking away for a huge slam dunk to push the Thunder's lead to double digits. The Pelicans responded with a quick 8-0 run to cut the lead to just two points, settling down the rowdy crowd. Out of a Thunder timeout, Oklahoma City knocked down two big threes to bring their lead back up to eight points, but Alexis Ajinca halted their run with an 11-foot jumper. The home team responded with another 6-0 run to give the Oklahoma City Thunder their largest lead so far of 12 points, causing Alvin Gentry to burn another timeout. For the remainder of the third period, the Pelicans kept chasing the Thunder, and were only able to cut the lead to six points, with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
The Pelicans opened up the final quarter with a 6-3 run cutting the lead to three points, but the Thunder responded with a 7-2 run to bring their lead back up to eight. The Pelicans came out of a timeout with a layup, but the Thunder kept on making shots, and with 5:30 left in the game, the home team led by 11 points. New Orleans would not be put away, however, and went on a 10-2 run to cut the lead back to just three points, but that's as close as they were able to get for the rest of the game. The Thunder outscored the Pelicans 13-9 throughout the rest of the quarter, and when the final buzzer sounded, the home team had won the game 110-103.
Overall, it was a nice game, showing a brief preview of how this rivalry will go this season. Their next matchup is not until February 11, again at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Hopefully for the next game, both Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis will be fully healthy for their teams in what should be an exciting matchup. The Pelicans will look to avoid losing the best of three series with a win in OKC to go into their final matchup just two weeks later in New Orleans. The Thunder will hope to capitalize by taking care of their home court. This looks to be like a great series.