The eighth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans (0-1) had the top-ranked Oklahoma City Thunder (1-0) on the ropes in Game 1 of their first-round NBA Playoffs series. The visitors from the Crescent City clawed back from a 10-point early fourth-quarter deficit to take a two-point lead with 3:34 on the clock.
CJ McCollum had a chance to clinch the upset with a three-pointer at the buzzer, but the attempt was just a touch too strong. New Orleans fell 94-92. The respectable performance has the locker room feeling encouraged and Willie Green says the team would not change a thing about how they approached the final few moments.
Styles make fights and the Pelicans-Thunder tale of the tape suggested this series might be a seven-game slugfest. Game 1 reinforced that notion, but it also exposed the Achilles heel for New Orleans. late-game execution. The Pelicans are infamously 0-24 when trailing in the fourth quarter and cannot buy a bucket in the final five minutes of close games.
Still, Green was adamant after the loss when asked about any changes to the late-game approach.
“Nope. I liked the quality. We had quality shots coming down the stretch that we just didn't make. It came down to the final play and our guys fought all night. Our defense with solid. The game plan was executed at a high level. We got knocked down some shots…I wouldn’t say we had it won, but we definitely had control of it coming down the stretch,” Green boasted. “We let it slip away.”
“(There were) a lot of positives throughout the course of the game. Like I said our game plan discipline was at a high level,” Green continued. “Our defense was extremely solid. Offensively we got quality looks but we did not knock them down. A couple of key plays down the stretch, a couple of turnovers that we want back but other than that, that's what you want. It's a game that comes down to the final few possessions.”
Those final few possessions were excruciating for anyone with an interest in the Pelicans. Brandon Ingram's layup gave New Orleans a 90-88 advantage with 3:34 to play. The next five trips down the court produced nothing but negative results.
First, Herb Jones drew an offensive foul. The next ended with Larry Nance Jr. passing the ball to Trey Murphy III, who was standing out of bounds. Then Nance Jr. missed a dunk, a crucial swing in momentum and on the scoreboard lost. Ingram was called for a charge on the following possession. The capper was four offensive rebounds going by the wayside with no points to show for them.
Chet Holmgren blocked Nance Jr. after the last of those offensive rebounds, leading to a Thunder break and a 92-90 lead the hosts would never give up.
“We needed to be more poised when we got those rebounds,” Green implored. “That’s part of the plan: go get them. We took some shots when we had 14 seconds left on the shot clock. Get the ball out and be solid. I thought we got a little sped up once we got those opportunities to shoot the ball.”
“This is what it’s going to be,” Green continued. “We’re physical with them, they’re physical with us and that’s a part of the game. That’s a part of playoff basketball.”
Pelicans need more poise, not different plays
McCollum was dwelling on the four offensive rebounds with no points possession as the turning point in the game.
“That’s the one,” McCollum said. “That’s the one we have to have. Those are the moments when you get a chance to close the door on them. We didn’t do that. Credit them. They played well and battled back, and they won the game.”
Nance Jr. and McCollum are well-respected, playoff-tested, tenured veterans with a decade of NBA service. If something needed to be switched up, they'd let Green know. Instead, both were upbeat after the defeat and echoed their coach. The game was there for the taking. The Pelicans just let one slip away.
McCollum broke down the last play in the postgame press conference, still confident in the shot attempt.
“I thought it was cash,” McCollum chuckled. “I missed it long. The game shouldn’t have come down to that. We had some possessions that we didn’t take advantage of…I got the switch. I should have attacked a little earlier, a little faster. Credit him it was good defense. Got the pump fake and a step through but the game shouldn't have come down to that.”
“We had some possessions we didn't take advantage of,” insisted McCollum. “Defensively, I gave up a couple of offensive rebounds. I think there are ways we can tighten up a little bit better so it does not come down to that but I liked my chances with the ball down the stretch, I can live with that.”
McCollum and Nance Jr. will hear about the missed shot and dunk for a couple of days. The rebounds and reading of the game in certain moments will be something the team has to focus on constantly or they'll be on summer vacation sooner rather than later.
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