Mussatto: OKC Thunder shows it has bark in tight win vs. Pelicans in NBA playoff opener

It felt like the old days. Looked like the old days. Sounded like the old days.

Except for the barking. That part was new.

For the first time in five years, to the exact April 21 date, playoff basketball was back in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder beat the Pelicans 94-92 in a Sunday night slugfest at Paycom Center, seizing Game 1 in the best-of-seven series.

Even the score was a throwback.

Only thrice did the Thunder fail to score 100 points in the regular season. All three were losses. Conversely, the Thunder improved to 13-0 when holding its opponents to fewer than 100 points.

It’s weird to say the Thunder stole a home game, but that’s what it felt like.

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OKC was sloppy down the stretch. The ever-smooth Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was suddenly shaky, with as many fourth-quarter turnovers (three) as buckets.

The Pelicans had four 3-point attempts in the final three minutes, any one of which could’ve been fatal. They missed all four.

Three came on one possession, in a span of 30 seconds.

In a tie game with 1:22 left, Pelicans wing Herb Jones missed a 3-pointer, but Larry Nance Jr. grabbed the offensive rebound. Then CJ McCollum missed a 3-pointer, and then Jones grabbed the offensive rebound. Then Brandon Ingram missed a 3-pointer, and Nance grabbed another offensive rebound.

Nance tried a six-foot push shot which Chet Holmgren swatted.

That led to a driving, off-balance, falling-sideways SGA jumper — a heroic shot that helped avenge some of his miscues.

“I just caught the ball at the elbow, and just tried to be aggressive and make a play that I’ve made before,” said SGA, whose description didn’t give justice to the shot.

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It was basically a five-point swing in the Thunder’s favor. The Pelicans had three chances to take a three-point lead and did nothing but pile one brick on top of another. Rather than trailing by three points, the Thunder went ahead by two and never trailed again.

Cason Wallace and Lu Dort bumped chests when CJ McCollum’s game-winning 3-point attempt bounced off the iron, but imagine how different Game 1 would be dissected had McCollum’s shot gone in.

The focus would be on the 18 offensive rebounds the Thunder allowed, which led to a 24-11 Pelicans advantage in second-chance points. Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas had 20 rebounds, nine of them offensive.

But this is the playoffs. You could pinpoint a dozen stats as to why the Pelicans should’ve won. Like, what if New Orleans doesn’t shoot a ghastly 1-of-15 on corner 3-pointers. If only a couple of those had gone in …

But the Thunder could spin it differently. OKC was beaten up on the boards, endured a big Valanciunas game and crazy shotmaking from Trey Murphy II and still won. The Thunder shot an uncharacteristic 46% at the rim — 20% below league average — and still won.

“I thought we showed great grit down the stretch,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “Obviously that was a tight game. It was a bit of a brawl for both teams offensively. And we made plays defensively down the stretch, big-time plays, and had the resolve to go and win the game.

“Collectively we learn from it, turn the page, be a better team on Wednesday.”

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The Thunder won 57 games in the regular season, few of which looked anything like what we saw Sunday.

OKC proved it can win a wrestling match. In the third quarter, that’s exactly what the game devolved into.

Jalen Williams and Jonas Valanciunas got tied up going for a rebound, with neither willing to relinquish the rock when a jump ball was called.

After finally relenting, Jalen Williams called on the dogs.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo.”

The building formerly known as The Peake became The Pound.

J-Dub barked. Thunder fans barked back.

The Thunder has just enough bite to take Game 1.

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Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder shows it has bark in physical Game 1 win vs. Pelicans