NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The defending NBA champions generally aren’t the best opponents to try getting well against.
And to the surprise of few, the ailing New Orleans Pelicans continued ailing Monday night (Nov. 17), getting manhandled by the league’s best team -- the Oklahoma City Thunder -- in a 126-109 loss at the Smoothie King Center.
The Pelicans (2-12) scored the first basket of the game -- an early 16-footer by rookie Jeremiah Fears -- and then never led again as they lost their sixth consecutive game.
New Orleans is 0-2 since Saturday, when head coach Willie Green was fired and replaced with interim coach James Borrego.
The Pelicans lost by 18 points Sunday to the Golden State Warriors and by 17 Monday to the Thunder (14-1), admittedly stiff competition for a struggling team trying to regain its footing.
“These two teams are going to fight for the NBA title,” Borrego said of his first two opponents. “They are elite. ... We’ll continue to fight and get after it, but there’s no easy solution. We’ve got to do a better job.”
Pelicans star Zion Williamson warmed up before the game, but was ruled out again as he continues recovering from a strained left hamstring. Saddiq Bey also was ruled out before the game, with a sprained left ankle.
Six Thunder players scored in double figures, led by Chet Holmgren’s 26 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 23. SGA, the league’s reigning MVP, only played 29 minutes and took nine shots from the floor because little more was needed.
Oklahoma City flew to a 43-24 lead by the end of the first quarter, a defensive effort by the Pelicans that Borrego termed “unacceptable.”
Fears led the Pelicans with 24 points and Trey Murphy III added 18.
The Pelicans conclude their five-game homestand Wednesday night, when they host the Denver Nuggets at 7 p.m.
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