The Thunder went several minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter. Then Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took over.
Oklahoma City’s star scored through C.J. McCollum’s foul to break a 90-90 tie with 32 seconds to go, then buried the and-one for a three-point lead in OKC’s eventual 94-92 win. The game had been tied thanks to another clutch bucket by Gilgeous-Alexander on the previous possession.
New Orleans came back from nine points down in the final quarter and had multiple chances to go ahead late. The Pelicans grabbed three offensive rebounds in one possession, two by Larry Nance Jr., only for Nance to get rejected by rookie Chet Holmgren.
What had to sting was that Holmgren, who finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks, also blocked Nance at the rim 93 seconds earlier.
SGA led all scorers with 28 points, while McCollum finished with 20. He had a chance to win it at the buzzer but stifling defense from another Thunder rookie, Cason Wallace, forced McCollum into an errant shot.
The Thunder took Game 1 and Gilgeous-Alexander proved that at age 25, he’s already a playoff closer.