For the Oklahoma City Thunder, Game 1, the same as the first round, looked like a regular-season event through and through.
Aside from the 18,000 roaring fans at Paycom Center and the red shirts worn by those not seated in the Smoothie King Center chairs, the Thunder have operated in exactly the same way on the court. .
Mark Daigneault is still searching the bottomless pit of his wallet, just like his grandma searching the bottomless pit of her wallet, to somehow always find that butterscotch hard candy that's been sitting in a crevasse since the Reagan administration. I’m digging into my rotation.
Chet Holmgren is still swallowing shots like Kirby, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander still shines in the middle range, and Jaylen Williams still looks like a 10-year veteran scorer rather than just a sophomore. .
Lou Dort continues to find the back of the net in the playoffs, Josh Guidy loves stepping in for New Orleans, and the Thunder make up for their lack of rebounding with a willing defense that competes for 24 seconds and then another 14 seconds.
This has all been part of their identity all year long on the floor. This, combined with their extraordinary maturity and 0-0 mentality, put them on the cusp of winning their first playoff series since Kevin Durant was on the team.
Oklahoma City was up 2-0, so they could have been complicit or got hit in the mouth by the boogeyman of the afternoon, but instead they got the job done.
As the Thunder improve to 3-0, there is an air of optimism that they will pull off one of the most difficult things in the NBA: a sweep. With a 0-0 mindset, OKC can beat a demoralized Pelicans team by staying true to their identity.
styles point
- The Oklahoma City Thunder will tip off Game 4 against the New Orleans Pelicans at 7:30 PM CT on NBATV.
- Lou Dort hit four triples while rushing Brandon Ingram.
- Mark Daigneault once again leaves Kenrich Williams in the small-ball 5 and is matched up with Larry Nance Jr.
- Jonas Valanciunas again played just 11 minutes off the floor in this contest.
Song of the day: Breathe in, breathe out, and move on. Written by Jimmy Buffett.
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