The Oklahoma City Thunder lead 1-0 after a 94-92 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night.
A closely contested game saw the Thunder pull away late in the fourth quarter to win the opener against the Pelicans without Zion Williamson. Williamson suffered a hamstring injury during New Orleans’ play-in game last week and will likely miss the majority of the series.
The Thunder had a narrow lead heading into the fourth quarter, but the Pelicans came back to tie the game in the final minutes. With less than a minute to go, rookie phenom Chet Holmgren made a huge block and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander converted a clutch and-one to give Oklahoma City a three-point advantage on the other end.
That clutch bucket helped decide the game and Gilgeous-Alexander finished the night with 28 points, six rebounds and four assists.
After the hard-fought victory, fans congratulated the young Thunder team for their victory, as most of the team’s players played in their first playoff game.
Now, the top seed from the West will look to continue to defend their home court in the second game to try to take a 2-0 lead in the series. Sunday’s game proved to be a test with more than 40 lead changes, and Oklahoma City will look for a more comfortable victory on Wednesday.
If anything, Sunday’s game gave the Thunder’s young core a taste of playoff basketball, and they should be ready for any battle they might face in the remainder of the series.
Oklahoma City will face New Orleans in Game 2 on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET.