Oklahoma City Thunder are set to face the Timberwolves for a final spot in the NBA playoffs
Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Timberwolves for a final spot in the NBA playoffs after beating the New Orleans Pelicans 123-118 thanks to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 32 points
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for the Thunder with 32 points this game
- Oklahoma City now moves on to face Minnesota in their final play-in game
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Josh Giddey recorded 31 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder stayed alive for a Western Conference playoff spot by recording a 123-118 victory over the host New Orleans Pelicans in a play-in game Wednesday night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 of his game-high 32 points in the second half and Luguentz Dort added 27 points for the Thunder, who will face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.
The winner earns the No. 8 seed in the West and will face the top-seeded Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.
Brandon Ingram recorded 30 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Pelicans, surpassing them by 11 points in the second half.
Trey Murphy III scored 21 points, Herbert Jones added 20, and Jonas Valanciunas contributed 16 points and 18 rebounds for New Orleans.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City to a play-in victory over the New Orleans Pelicans
Josh Giddey (3) scored 31 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City pressed on and stayed on the basket of Gilgeous-Alexander with 28.3 seconds remaining. Gilgeous-Alexander scored eight points in the final 1:40.
Jalen Williams added 11 points for the Thunder, who shot 45.7 percent from the field, including 11 of 37 (29.7 percent) from 3-point range.
CJ McCollum added 14 points for New Orleans, which made 48.3 percent of its shots and was 9 of 28 (32.1 percent) from behind the arc. The Pelicans were once again without the oft-injured Zion Williamson, who has not played since January 2 due to a hamstring injury.
Ingram knocked over a 17-footer to give New Orleans a 114-112 lead with 1:21 left. Oklahoma City’s Jaylin Williams shared two free throws with 59.8 seconds left before McCollum missed a floater for New Orleans with 37.9 seconds left to play.
Gilgeous-Alexander then drove and lofted in the short shot to give the Thunder a 115-114 lead. Ingram missed a 16-footer with 18.4 seconds left before Giddey made two free throws with 12 seconds left.
Ingram split two free throws with 10.4 seconds left to bring the Pelicans within two. Dort made two free throws with 6.2 seconds left before Ingram buried a 3-pointer to cut the New Orleans deficit to 119–118 with 4.3 seconds left.
Gilgeous-Alexander made four free throws in the final 2.8 seconds to seal the goal.
The Thunder trailed by six at halftime before Gilgeous-Alexander scored 17 points in the third quarter. Oklahoma City defeated the Pelicans 39-24 in that span.
The Thunder led 96-87 going into the final stanza before New Orleans went on a 14-4 spurt. Josh Richardson’s dunk gave the Pelicans a 101-100 lead with 7:59 left.
Jones and Murphy each scored 15 points in the first half as the Pelicans led 63–57 at halftime. Dort had 20 in the half for Oklahoma City.
Brandon Ingram led the way to New Orleans, getting 20 of his 30 points in the second half