The Oklahoma City Thunder are one win away from advancing to the second round of the NBA Playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
In Game 3 of the first round of the playoff series against the New Orleans Pelicans, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points, eight assists, and five rebounds to lead the Thunder to a 106-85 victory. Oklahoma City takes a 3-0 series lead. To date, no team has ever rebounded from a 3-0 series deficit to win a series in the NBA Playoffs.
Josh Guidi and Jaylen Williams both added 21 points. Guidi also contributed eight rebounds and six assists.
A great outside shot propelled the Thunder to a decisive victory. Guidi made 4 of 7 3-pointers and Lou Dort made 4 of 8. Williams made three of his four 3-pointers. As a team, Oklahoma City shot 47 percent (17-of-36) from behind the arc, giving them a big advantage over the Pelicans, who shot 31 percent (9-of-29) from three. .
Brandon Ingram led New Orleans with 19 points, his highest score thus far in the series, despite some tough defense from Dort.
However, Ingram didn't have enough scoring ability to make up for Zion Williamson's absence. Williamson has not yet played in the playoffs as he is recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in the Pelicans' first game of the play-in tournament.
Ingram is also working his way back from a knee injury that caused him to miss 12 games late in the regular season.
CJ McCollum had 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds, and Herb Jones had 16 points.
Another advantage for the Thunder was that Chet Holmgren protected the rim. The rookie had four blocks, not only keeping New Orleans from scoring, but also giving Oklahoma City some momentum in transition.
Holmgren also had eight rebounds and six points while preventing the Pelicans' frontcourt from making much of an impact.
New Orleans coach Willie Green started Larry Nance Jr. at center at the start of the second half, hoping he could provide Holmgren with a better matchup than Jonas Valanciunas, who had just seven points. Nance finished with nine points.
It's been a long time since the last Thunder playoff series victory
The Thunder earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and advanced to the postseason for the first time in four years. Prior to this season, Oklahoma City had not made it past the first round in each of its previous four playoff appearances.
In the 2015-16 season, the team featuring Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka reached the West Finals, but lost in seven games to the Golden State Warriors.
Game 4 of the Thunder-Pelicans series is scheduled for Monday. Tip-off and television broadcast dates will be announced at a later date.
