Fourth Quarter Surge Leads to OKC Sweep of New Orleans
The Oklahoma City Thunder went on an 18-2 run in the fourth quarter to take control of a tight game and beat the New Orleans Pelicans 97-89 in Game 4 of their first round series, completing a sweep and becoming the youngest team to ever win an NBA Playoff series.
In a game with 18 ties and 19 lead changes, OKC's fourth quarter run was the difference as they opened an 11-point lead, then held on down the stretch for just their second sweep in team history and their first since 2012 vs. Dallas.
Josh Giddey and Jalen Willams both hit back-to-back three-pointers during the run, with Giddey finishing with 14 points and Williams scoring 24 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander matched Williams with 24 points and led OKC with 10 rebounds.
All five Thunder starters scored in double figures, with Chet Holmgren scoring 14 points and grabbing 9 rebounds and Luguentz Dort adding 11 points.
It was a defensive struggle, as the Thunder shot just 43 percent from the field, but held the Pelicans to 38 percent.
The Thunder forced 18 Pelican turnovers.
The Thunder have won four straight playoff games for the first time since 2016, when they won the last three games of their conference semifinal series against the Spurs, then won Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals at Golden State.
The Thunder will get some time off, as much as a week or more, before facing the winner of the L.A. Clippers-Dallas series, which is tied at two games apiece.