Oklahoma
Thunder Gameday: Oklahoma City Looks to Take First Road Game in New Orleans
Following a dog fight throughout Game 1, Oklahoma City controlled things for nearly the entire contest in Game 2 over the Pelicans.
From just a two-point win to a 32-point blowout, it was quite the stark contrast between the two games for the Thunder, and it came on the offensive front.
Converting shots that weren’t able to fall and also getting a bit better looks from the field, the Thunder’s ability to shoot 48.3% from three on 29 tries and 59.0% overall elevated them to that level of play on Wednesday night, as well as a huge game from rookie Chet Holmgren.
Now headed to Bourbon Street for their first game in New Orleans in this series, Oklahoma City looks to close things outright in the next two games and head back home for some rest rather than a Game 5.
Apr 24, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas (17)
Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
ODDS:
The Thunder enter the day as 1.5-point favorites against the Pelicans, and the total over/under is 209.5 points.
KEYS TO THE GAME:
Against a team on the road who has already proven their ability to rally and scrap throughout a full 48 minutes, Oklahoma City will surely look to get out ahead quickly and curb any possible momentum from accruing on the New Orleans side.
Limiting CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram as volume scorers will certainly be a point of emphasis as it has been so far in the series. But behind a home crowd and playoff environment, it’s more important on the road to diminish their confidence and lock them down while they can’t build a raucous crowd.
On the Oklahoma City side, another big game will be needed from Holmgren to minimize the impact of Jonas Valanciunas, both on the boards and as an interior scorer. From Game 1 to Game 2, Holmgren made a strong improvement on that front, cutting down his rebounding numbers from 20 to just seven between those two contests.
Lastly, a proficient shooting day should be in the works for Mark Daigneault’s squad if he hopes to take this first one on the road, as it was shown the impact it had on the outcome of Game 2. 3-point shooting from all around will be needed, like this team has shown it’s able to do.
RECORDS:
Oklahoma City Thunder (57-25) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (49-33)
INJURIES:
Check out our live injury tracker, along with our game day injury report that will release later today.
WHEN:
Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 2:30 PM CT
LOCATION:
Smoothie King Center – New Orleans, LA
TV/RADIO:
Bally Sports Oklahoma, NBA League Pass, 98.1 FM The Sports Animal
Live Stream: fuboTV (Start Your Free Trial)
FINAL WORD:
Oklahoma City will need to punch New Orleans in the mouth to begin this game on Saturday afternoon, and limit any chances of the Pelicans feeding off of a booming crowd.
The Thunder will hope to take Game 3 before looking for a possible sweep in Game 4 on Monday.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their opening-round series. The OKC Thunder are hoping that they can repeat their Sunday afternoon performance in this contest. Game 2 will be an interesting test with the Suns having more time to prepare.
Phoenix was up against a rock and a hard place in the series opener. The Oklahoma City Thunder not only have the talent advantage but the rest advantage as well. Phoenix punched their ticket to the NBA Playoffs on Friday night by staving off the Golden State Warriors on Friday night before landing in Oklahoma City on Saturday and playing on Saturday afternoon to the tune of a 119-84 blowout Thunder victory.
The NBA has seen plenty of upsets already. The Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers have all stolen games from the higher seed. The Thunder know they have to keep the foot on the gas in this contest.
“These series are unpredictable. No 2 games are the same. The minute you make an assumption, you are overconfident, or the minute you go down and you’re overly urgent, that can impact your ability to be present in the next game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said pregame on Wednesday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are seeing the Suns make an adjustment with their starting lineup by inserting Collin Gillespie to give Phoenix a trio of ball handling scoring options alongside Devin Booker and Jalen Green. This gives the Suns hope to be able to find better shot quality against this stifling Thunder defensive unit.
Oklahoma City is healthier now than they have been all season. The Thunder only are missing rookie Thomas Sorber (ACL) who is out for the year. This allows the Bricktown Ballers to roll out their traditional first five in this contest.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns, Game 2 Starting Lineup
Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Lineup
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Lu Dort, G
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
Phoenix Suns Starting Lineup
- Devin Booker, G
- Jalen Green, G
- Collin Gillespie, G
- Dillon Brooks, F
- Oso Ighodaro, C
The series will shift to Phoenix this weekend as the Oklahoma City Thunder hope to head into Saturday afternoon’s Game 3 with a 2-0 advantage in the series.
Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of the NBA Playoff run for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA (KOKH) — The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a home fire late Tuesday evening, around 10:42 p.m.
According to OKCFD, fire could be seen from a window of the home located in the 4200 block of N. Phillips Avenue.
Firefighters were able to rescue an adult female from inside the home. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.
Investigators believe that the fire may have originated from an outlet near the refrigerator that had a power strip plugged in that was supplying multiple appliances.
There was also no smoke detector present within the home.
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NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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