Oklahoma City Thunder (57-25, first in the Western Conference) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (49-33, seventh in the Western Conference)
New Orleans; Saturday, 3:30 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Thunder -1; over/under is 209.5
WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Thunder lead series 2-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Oklahoma City Thunder visit the New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference first round with a 2-0 lead in the series. The Thunder won the last matchup 124-92 on April 25 led by 33 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, while Jonas Valanciunas scored 19 points for the Pelicans.
The Pelicans are 30-22 against Western Conference opponents. New Orleans is ninth in the Western Conference scoring 115.1 points while shooting 48.6% from the field.
The Thunder are 36-16 in conference play. Oklahoma City is ninth in the Western Conference with 33.2 defensive rebounds per game led by Chet Holmgren averaging 6.3.
The Pelicans score 115.1 points per game, 2.4 more points than the 112.7 the Thunder give up. The Thunder average 13.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.2 fewer makes per game than the Pelicans allow.
TOP PERFORMERS: Brandon Ingram is averaging 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists for the Pelicans. CJ McCollum is averaging 26.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists over the past 10 games.
Jalen Williams is scoring 19.1 points per game and averaging 4.0 rebounds for the Thunder. Holmgren is averaging 16.8 points and 8.3 rebounds over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pelicans: 4-6, averaging 109.2 points, 40.4 rebounds, 25.2 assists, 8.8 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 46.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 113.1 points per game.
Thunder: 7-3, averaging 115.5 points, 43.0 rebounds, 27.5 assists, 9.2 steals and 5.8 blocks per game while shooting 49.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.9 points.
INJURIES: Pelicans: Zion Williamson: out (hamstring).
Thunder: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
