Shai Gilgeous-Alexander keeps Oklahoma City Thunder in the hunt for #1 seed with win over New Orleans Pelicans

The Oklahoma City Thunder are fighting for the top seed in the West and they were able to inch closer to that goal with a huge 119-112 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center behind a bounce back performance by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

SGA struggled in his previous game against the Bucks, but he got back on track as he finished with 24 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals for the Thunder. Jalen Williams scored a team-high 26 points while Josh Giddey drained 5 three-pointers and ended with a total of 25 points and 9 rebounds. Chet Holmgren recorded 16 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.

With no Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson stepped up for the Pelicans as he recorded a game-high 29 points along with 5 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 steals. CJ McCollum had 23 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, and 4 made threes. Trey Murphy III also hit 4 triples and ended with 16 points. Herb Jones finished with 16 points, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

OKC improves to 50-21 with this win and now sit just 0.5 games behind the Nuggets for the 1st seed in the West. This was a huge win for the Thunder as home court advantage will be important for this young squad in the playoffs. They are 8-2 over their last 10 games and will look to build off this win tomorrow when they play against the scorching Houston Rockets.

New Orleans drops to 44-28 with this loss and fall back down to the 5th seed in the West. This is a tough loss to swallow as they competed to the end without one of their top players, and they believe that if they were fully healthy they could’ve came out on top.

Instead, they now lose their top 4 seed and won’t have home court advantage if the playoffs started today. The Pelicans are battling with the Clippers in the standings so every game between these 2 will be crucial. The Louisiana team is 7-3 over their last 10 games and will look to bounce back on Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks.