Back in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2019, the biggest question hanging over the Western Conference’s youngest-ever No.1 seed was whether the lights would be too bright.
Whether the Oklahoma City Thunder’s youth and inexperience would show up in the worst time possible.
At times on Monday afternoon it did, with uncharacteristic errors and a certain nervy energy to Oklahoma City’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
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But it was rookie duo Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace who came up with two of the biggest plays of the game as the Thunder survived a scare, defeating the Pelicans 94-92.
First, Holmgren blocked Larry Nance Jr. as New Orleans came up empty despite hauling in three straight offensive rebounds before a pesky Wallace poked the ball out on the Pelicans’ final possession of the game as he defended the much more experienced C.J. McCollum.
“He was awesome,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of Wallace.
“He stood in there, two-point game. We didn’t want to go double in that situation. He almost got the ball. Lot of pressure, obviously took them out of what they were doing.
“They got a clean look because of the second jump, good lesson there. But I thought we were competitive tonight.”
With it, the Thunder went 1-0 up in the series, although the Pelicans can take plenty out of Monday’s game considering how close they got despite being without Zion Williamson.
Trey Murphy III led the way in scoring with 21 points for the Pelicans while Jonas Valanciunas dominated on the boards with 20 rebounds.
McCollum, meanwhile, had 20 points but struggled from deep, going 2-of-9 in the defeat.
Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made a few clutch baskets down the stretch as he finished with a game-high 28 points while Holmgren’s block on Nance was one of five from the former No.2 overall pick, who also had 15 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
Josh Giddey had a rough shooting night as he went 1-of-6 from the field for two points to go with three rebounds and three assists while fellow Australian Dyson Daniels only played three minutes.
Giddey was guilty of an early turnover but was active off the ball as he cut towards the basket in the lead-up to a Holmgren 3-pointer that opened the scoring.
The Pelicans doubled Gilgeous-Alexander on that possession, leaving Holmgren to make them pay from deep, although he missed his next four field goal attempts as New Orleans took a 9-7 lead into the first timeout.
The Thunder were 3-of-10 from the field at that point, with Valanciunas scoring four quick points for New Orleans, although Brandon Ingram was scoreless early after being locked down by a physical Lu Dort.
However, sometimes even that isn’t enough, as Kenrich Williams learned after Ingram hit a tough shot over him to make his first shot of the night late in the first quarter.
The Pelicans had contained Gilgeous-Alexander early in the period but OKC’s superstar guard, who was named one of three MVP finalists on Monday, started to really get going as he finished the quarter on a game-high nine points.
There was nothing separating the two teams after the opening quarter, with OKC and New Orleans tied at 17-all.
The Thunder quickly went ahead as Jalen Williams drove to the left and hit a jumper from his favourite spot at the left elbow within 13 seconds of the second quarter starting, prompting Pelicans coach Willie Green to call a swift timeout.
The timeout seemed to spark something in the Pelicans, who outscored the Thunder 11-2 to take a 28-21 lead as Trey Murphy III made a quick pair of 3-pointers.
OKC was able to get the game back level again at 33-all, seeing Green call another timeout with 5:07 on the clock in the second quarter.
Nothing could separate the two teams at halftime either though, tied up at 43-all with Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way on 11 points while Chet Holmgren had seven points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
The issue for Holmgren and the Thunder in general was competing with the size and physicality of Valanciunas, who had 10 rebounds in the first half.
Neither team was shooting it well from downtown, sitting around the 25 per cent mark, while there was minimal difference when it came to points in the paint too.
The Thunder did outscore the Pelicans 11-2 in fastbreak points but New Orleans had the clear advantage in second-chance points (16-2), grabbing six offensive rebounds compared to two for OKC.
The seesawing nature of Monday’s series opener continued in the third quarter as the Thunder jumped ahead 48-45 after a Dort 3-pointer and Williams jump shot, only to fall behind after the Pelicans scored five quick points of their own.
The Thunder eventually started to break away as they went on an 11-0 run, capped off by Giddey’s first points of the game as he drove to the basket for the finish.
But once again it didn’t take long for the Pelicans to reduce the deficit, scoring five straight points to get back to 59-55.
Like clockwork, Oklahoma City again opened up at 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter as Daigneault brought Gilgeous-Alexander into the game for Giddey to try and put the game away.
But instead two steals from Naji Marshall helped get the New Orleans offence going in transition as a pair of quick 3-pointers saw the Pelicans get it back to a three-point game.
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New Orleans then went up 90-88 after a pair of uncharacteristic Gilgeous-Alexander turnovers, prompting Daigneault to call a timeout with 3:34 on the clock.
An errant Gilgeous-Alexander pass then saw the Thunder superstar turn the ball over again, although the MVP candidate later made a clutch bucket to tie the game heading into the final minute.
Second-chance points hurt the Thunder in the opening half and threatened to bring the top seed undone late as the Pelicans grabbed three offensive rebounds in the space of 15 seconds, only to miss their first two shots before Holmgren blocked Nance Jr. on the third.
Gilgeous-Alexander then stepped up for the and-1 to give OKC a three-point lead before CJ McCollum buried a big-time shot to make it a one-point game with 26 seconds left.
The Pelicans opted to foul Holmgren, who made one of two free throws, and then took a timeout with the chance to set up for a potential game-winning shot.
McCollum though, having put New Orleans in a position to win the game, lost the ball and recovered to get a good look at 3 but missed as the Thunder celebrated their return to playoff basketball with a victory.