Oklahoma City at New Orleans 3:30 ET
Pelicans (+) over Thunder- The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder had to battle to the buzzer to win their Western Conference first-round series opener against New Orleans. The Thunder had a much easier time in Game 2, routing the Pelicans 124-92 Wednesday night. The eighth-seeded Pelicans will look to break through at home Saturday afternoon in Game 3. Oklahoma City's defense was excellent in both games as New Orleans scored fewer than 100 points in consecutive games for just the second time this season. In Game 2, the Pelicans shot 45.2 percent from the floor (including 7 of 26 from 3-point range) and the Thunder scored 22 points off 18 New Orleans turnovers. New Orleans, which had the best road record in the NBA at 28-14, lost six straight home games before defeating Sacramento (NBA ‘Do or Die’ GOY winner) in a play-in elimination game. Oklahoma City, which won eight more games than the Pelicans during the regular season, was 24-17 away from home. The Thunder were 2-0 at New Orleans in the regular season, prevailing 107-83 and 119-112. Turn about...take NEW ORLEANS!