The Oklahoma City Thunder (1-3) lost its third-straight game, falling to the New Orleans Pelicans (3-2) 113-80 on Thursday night. Coming into the game, the Thunder had won 10 of its 12 previous games on New Year’s Eve and defeated the Pelicans in all four of their matchups last season. The Pelicans built an 11-point halftime lead and were never seriously threatened after that, eventually building a 33-point lead in the fourth quarter as the Thunder scored just seven points in the final quarter.
Brandon Ingram led all scorers, finishing with 20 points and seven rebounds before being ejected in the third quarter for a Flagrant 2 foul on OKC’s Isaiah Roby. Ingram caught Roby in the head while trying to block a shot in transition.
After sitting out the previous game, Al Horford led all Thunder scorers with 17 points and six rebounds. Horford was one of two Thunder players to score in double figures as Mike Muscala scored 10 points in 16 minutes off the OKC bench.
Steven Adams returned to Oklahoma City for the first time since being traded by the Thunder in the offseason. Adams finished with a double-double, scoring 14 points on 7-13 shooting and 10 rebounds. Eric Bledsoe added 17 points, and Lonzo Ball scored 16 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds for the Pelicans. New Orleans finished with seven players scoring in double figures.
OTHER NOTABLES
The Thunder matched their season-high with 15 3-pointers. However, the 15 made 3s came on 48 attempts (31.3 percent). OKC also shot 37.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the free-throw line on 15 attempts from the charity stripe.
After its worst loss on the season, OKC is tied with three other teams for the worst record in the Western Conference.
Next, the Thunder will begin a five-game road trip on Saturday in Orlando, just four days after losing to the Magic (118-107) in Oklahoma City.
