Afer handling business at home in the first two outings, the Thunder hope to dial in to grab a 3-0 series lead in New Orleans on Saturday.
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.
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.
