The Thunder are blowing Jonas Valanciunas with the Pelicans towards the holiday

With or without Jon Valančiūnas on the court, the Pelicans can’t find a way to keep up with the Thunder.

In the third match of the series, the Lithuanian basketball player did not play much and mostly watched from the bench as the New Orleans team playing at home lost the match 85:106 and trailed in the series to four wins already 0-3.

J. Valančiūnas did not get much time to express himself – he played only at the beginning of the match, when in 12 minutes. scored 7 points and 4 rebounds.

The Lithuanian hit 3 out of 4 2-pointers, 1 out of 2 free throws, made two fouls, and while he was on the court, the Pelicans scored 10 points less than their opponents.

After the break, the coach didn’t let J. Valančiūnas on the field anymore, even though the Pelicans played again without Zion Williamson, who was recovering from a thigh injury.

The first-place Thunder in the regular season in the West was viewed more cautiously before the playoffs due to the young age and limited experience of the players, especially after the first game in Oklahoma City, when the Pelicans fell by only 2 points.

But in the second game, the Thunder crushed their opponents by 32 points, and in the third they again dominated from the first minutes.

“We were ready to play,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “Our physicality, our defense and our concentration were very good, really good.”

The Thunder made 17 of 36 3-pointers (47 percent), and the Pelicans returned home with little improvement in long-range shooting, shooting 28.1 percent after shooting 27.7 percent in the first two games. 3-pointers (9 of 32).

“They tried different options, but we had a lot of weapons on the field. “Guys made good shots, extra passes,” said Thunder’s Australian Josh Gidey, who scored 21 points and trailed only Shai Gilgeous Alexander (24 points).

If the Pelicans lose again at home on Monday, the series and the season will be over for J. Valančiūnas’ team.

“It’s not over yet,” coach Willie Green warned his team in a press conference. “Listen: we’re going to play at home again, we didn’t fix everything this time, but go home, eat well and let’s go back to training on Sunday to prepare better for the next game.”

History is not on the side of J. Valančiūnas and the Pelicans. So far in the league’s existence, no team has won a series after trailing 0-3.

Pelicans: Brandon Ingram 19, CJ McCollum 16, Herbert Jones 15;

Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 24, Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams 21 each.