National Basketball Association
Preview
Oklahoma City at New Orleans
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 7, 2024
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

The Oklahoma City Thunder have won six of their last seven games.

The New Orleans Pelicans have won five games all season.

Still, both teams are feeling pretty good -- albeit for different reasons -- going into their matchup Saturday night in New Orleans.

The Western Conference-leading Thunder cruised to a 129-92 road victory against Toronto on Thursday, the same night that the Pelicans ended a nine-game losing streak with a 126-124 home victory against Phoenix.

"We're having a lot of fun out there," Oklahoma City guard Luguentz Dort said.

Oklahoma City isn't likely to overlook New Orleans any more than it did the Raptors, one of the worst teams in the East, or Utah. The Jazz, who are neck and neck with the Pelicans for the worst record in the West, fell to the host Thunder 133-106 on Tuesday.

"It's the NBA," said Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 30 points in 30 minutes and sat out the fourth quarter Thursday in Toronto. "It's the best league in the world, the most talented players in the world. You can't slight anybody because they'll beat you. I don't ever play a team's record. I go out there and give my all, and my teammates do the same thing. That's why we have success."

The Thunder led the Raptors by 22 points early in the second quarter and by 34 at the end of the third quarter.

"I thought we were really ready to play from the jump," Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. "The guys really came in with a business-like approach."

The Thunder beat the Pelicans 106-88 in the first meeting Nov. 13 in Oklahoma City. New Orleans was missing four starters and two other rotation players for that game, but the Pelicans are much healthier now.

Guards CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray missed the first meeting but have since returned. The Pelicans received a boost Thursday against the Suns when leading scorer Brandon Ingram (calf) returned from a five-game absence and Herbert Jones (shoulder), the team's best perimeter defender, returned from an 18-game absence. The result was just the second victory in 17 games.

"I told my teammates we just needed to get one (win)," McCollum said. "It's been a long season. We've been losing a lot, and there have been a lot of frustrating games.

"I know it's been hard to watch for a while. But we competed and we gave ourselves a chance. I liked the way we fought. If we play like that every night, we are going to have the chance to win a lot of games."

Ingram scored 21 of his 29 points in a game-turning third quarter in which New Orleans had 45 points, its season high in any quarter. McCollum had 13 points and three assists in the fourth quarter and Jones blocked Devin Booker's 3-pointer as time expired.

"Herb Jones is a leader," Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "Even when he wasn't playing, he was talking to the coaches, he was talking to his teammates. He was watching film, showing guys where they could be better.

"He exemplifies what our program is all about. Without him on the floor, we're missing a lot. You could feel his presence from the time he stepped on the floor."

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Day Night Div Conf
Oklahoma City 17-5 W2 9-2 8-3 0-0 17-5 4-1 13-5
New Orleans 5-18 W1 4-7 1-11 0-2 5-16 0-2 3-9
Last Meeting
Oklahoma City New Orleans
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
11/13/24 NO 88 OKC 106 106 31 44.3 88 58 39.5
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Oklahoma City J. Williams 31 55.6 7
New Orleans B. Ingram 18 38.9 0
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Oklahoma City J. Williams 6 1 5
New Orleans B. Boston Jr. 10 4 6
Assists Player  
Oklahoma City J. Williams 7
New Orleans B. Ingram 6
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Oklahoma City S. Gilgeous-Alexander 695 51.2 157
New Orleans B. Ingram 413 47.1 47
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Oklahoma City J. Williams 144 19 125
New Orleans Y. Missi 184 83 101
Assists Player  
Oklahoma City S. Gilgeous-Alexander 154
New Orleans B. Ingram 93
Quickchart Matchup
Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Off vs  New Orleans New Orleans Defense
Oklahoma City Off vs New Orleans - Points For 115.5 Points For
Oklahoma City Off vs New Orleans - Points Against 116.4 Points Against
Oklahoma City - FG% 46.3 FG%
New Orleans - FG% 48.6 FG%
Oklahoma City - Reb 43.3 Reb
New Orleans - Reb 45.2 Reb
New Orleans New Orleans Off vs  Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Defense
New Orleans Off vs Oklahoma City - Points For 104.3 Points For
New Orleans Off vs Oklahoma City - Points Against 103.5 Points Against
New Orleans - FG% 43.6 FG%
Oklahoma City - FG% 42.3 FG%
New Orleans - Reb 43.4 Reb
Oklahoma City - Reb 48.7 Reb