The eighth-seeded team, which almost lost its ace pitchers, almost got the upper hand from the beginning. Still, the No. 1 seed was the No. 1 seed. The Oklahoma City Thunder, the No. 1 team in the Western Conference regular season, beat the New Orleans Pelicans, the last team to join the playoffs as the No. 8 seed.

Oklahoma City defeated New Orleans 94-92 in the first round of the 2023-2024 NBA Playoff Western Conference held at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on the 22nd.

Oklahoma City, which ranked first in the Western Conference with 57 wins and 25 losses in the regular league this season, was expected to win against New Orleans, which barely made it to the playoffs through the play-in tournament after recording 49 wins and 33 losses to rank seventh. In particular, the atmosphere was even more prevalent because New Orleans ace Zion Williamson even missed the day after injuring his left leg muscle during the play-in tournament game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

However, the first half ended in a 43-43 tie amid struggles by both teams. Oklahoma City led 74–68 in the third quarter, but the score was not much different.

The game was ultimately decided in the final minutes. Oklahoma City, which was 88-90 after losing two points to New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram with 3:34 left in the game, tied the game 90-90 again with a pull-up jumper by Shai Gilgers-Alexander at 1:36 before the game ended. Then, Gilgers-Alexander made a three-point play that even made an extra free throw on the floater due to an opponent’s foul with 32.1 seconds left, widening the gap again to 93-90. New Orleans also trailed 93-92 with C.J. McCollum’s two points back within six seconds. Then it became 94-92 when Chet Holmgren made just one of his two free throws from a foul, and McCollum made a double 3-pointer in New Orleans’ final attack, which began with 14 seconds left, but missed the rim and the game was decided.

For Oklahoma City, Gilgers-Alexander played his part with 28 points, and Home Gren also helped the team win with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks.

Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics, the No. 1 player in the Eastern Conference, defeated the Miami Heat, the eighth seed, 114-94 and easily took the first round. With as many as 22 three-point shots, Jason Tatum achieved a triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.

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