News Category: New Orleans Pelicans

Thunder rolling along, look to finish off Pelicans

The Oklahoma City Thunder dominated Games 2 and 3 of their playoff series against the New Orleans Pelicans. The No. 1 seed Thunder have a 3-0 lead and will try to sweep the No. 8 Pelicans in Game 4 on Monday night in New Orleans and advance to the Western Conference semifinals. OKC fell behind 14-12 early in Game 2, then went on a 21-6 run to take control and rolled to a 32-point victory.

Thunder leaning into depth vs. Pelicans in Game 2

In his first postseason as an NBA head coach, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Mark Daigneault shows no signs of shortening his rotation. Daigneault has developed a reputation for continually tinkering with his player usage and going deep into the roster during the regular season. In the Thunder’s playoff opener against the New Orleans Pelicans, a 94-92 victory Sunday, Daigneault played 11 players. Nine of them played in the first quarter. “I have great confidence with

Top-seeded, more mature Thunder take on Zion-less Pelicans

Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault isn’t worried about leading a young team into the playoffs. “Age is just a number,” Daigneault said. “There’s a difference between youth and maturity.” And Daigneault’s Thunder, the second-youngest team in the NBA this season, has shown plenty of maturity this season in earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. They’ll open the playoffs against the New Orleans Pelicans Sunday in Oklahoma City. It’s the first playoff

Play-in tourney lines up Pelicans for revenge on Lakers

The New Orleans Pelicans could have avoided a rematch against the Los Angeles Lakers by winning the regular-season finale between the teams Sunday and claiming a top-six playoff spot. Instead, the Lakers again outclassed the Pelicans and didn’t even have to leave town as the two teams will square off in New Orleans on Tuesday during the NBA play-in round. The winner of the contest between the No. 8 seed Lakers (47-35) and No. 7

A lot riding on the line when Lakers visit Pelicans in regular-season finale

The New Orleans Pelicans can secure the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference playoffs by beating the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. The Lakers can clinch the No. 8 spot and strengthen their position for the play-in tournament by winning. A lot is at stake for both teams as they meet in the regular-season finale in New Orleans. New Orleans (49-32) won at Golden State, 114-109, on Friday to complete a sweep of a

Pelicans bid to strengthen hold on No. 6 seed in visit to Warriors

The New Orleans Pelicans and Golden State Warriors will have plenty at stake on Friday night when they tip off in San Francisco. The Pelicans (48-32) retained a one-game lead over the Phoenix Suns (47-33) in their tussle for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff position in the Western Conference with a 135-123 road win over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night. The Suns hold the tiebreaker over New Orleans, meaning the Pelicans must retain

Playoff-bound Pelicans look to take advantage of lowly Blazers

The New Orleans Pelicans have their sights set on landing a top-six playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Pelicans have the opportunity to move closer to making that a reality when they visit the lowly Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. New Orleans (46-32) will arrive at the arena Tuesday in the seventh position in the West, though the Pelicans have the same record as the Phoenix Suns, who hold the sixth spot. The

Pelicans look to regain footing against Spurs

The New Orleans Pelicans have slipped from a playoff position to a play-in spot. They have lost three straight games and four of five during a homestand that ends Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs. New Orleans (45-31) is tied with the Phoenix Suns for sixth place, but the Suns own the head-to-head tiebreaker. “We’ve got 45 wins. We’ve got six games left. It’s not the end of the world,” Pelicans guard CJ McCollum

Magic, Pelicans have similar mindsets entering key matchup

Two teams desperately trying to avoid falling into play-in territory in their respective conferences go head-to-head Wednesday night when the Orlando Magic visit the New Orleans Pelicans. Both the Magic (44-31) in the East and Pelicans (45-30) in the West reside in the top six of the standings, but a run of losses in a road-heavy season-ending schedule could change that. Orlando seemingly has righted itself with two consecutive victories following three losses in a

Challenging closing slates figure big for both Suns and Pelicans

The Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Pelicans are both down to their final eight games of the regular season. They’ll face each other twice in important games down the stretch, beginning with a meeting on Monday night in New Orleans, with the possibility of going up or down in the Western Conference postseason seedings. The fifth-place Pelicans (45-29) have a two-game lead over the seventh-place Suns (43-31) with Dallas squeezed in between. New Orleans