Apr. 21—OKLAHOMA CITY — The NBA’s best road team in the regular season stepped into a hostile environment Sunday.Every seat at Paycom Center was occupied 20 minutes before tipoff. The 18,203 in attendance wore white. Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt whipped the crowd into a frenzy from midcourt before the game was tipped.The New Orleans Pelicans remained composed for most of Game 1. But with the game tied in the final minute, they misfired on a series of potential go-ahead shots. The Pelicans lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 94-92 on Sunday. They will get a chance to even the series Wednesday.The Pelicans trailed by two points with 14 seconds remaining. They decided to get the ball to CJ McCollum. McCollum got a clean look at a 3-pointer at the buzzer but missed.“Got the switch,” McCollum said. “I should have attacked a little earlier, a little faster. Credit him. It was good defense. I pump faked and stepped through. I thought it was cash. I missed it long. Game shouldn’t have came down to that. We had some possessions that we didn’t take advantage of.”The Thunder forced Brandon Ingram into a 5-of-17 shooting performance. Ingram finished with 12 points.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, an MVP candidate, led the Thunder with 28 points. Gilgeous-Alexander broke a tie with 32.5 seconds remaining by hitting a driving layup after getting fouled. That sequence put the Thunder ahead by three points.The Pelicans went 1-2 against the Thunder in the regular season. In late January, the Thunder’s fourth-ranked defense held the Pelicans to a season-low 83 points. Points were hard to come by again Sunday.At halftime, the game was tied at 43-43. Ingram, the Pelican who is being asked to shoulder the scoring load while Zion Williamson is sidelined, had eight points on 3-of-10 shooting at the break.Ingram was never able to establish a rhythm against the Thunder. Luguentz Dort and Jalen Williams each spent time defending Ingram. They used their strength to keep him from getting to the rim.“It’s not about what we need to do to free B.I. up,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “This is playoff basketball. He’s got to continue to play through it. Have some gamesmanship out there. Get to the free-throw line a bit more. We were physical with them. They were physical with us. It’s a part of the game. It’s a part of playoff basketball.”The Pelicans shot 38.6% from the ...
