Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-92 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points, including the go-ahead basket in the final minute, and the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 94-92 in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Brandon Ingram scored 24 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points and 12 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans booked a spot in the NBA playoffs with a 105-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings in a play-in tournament elimination game.

There have been several factors why the Rockets would be missing out on the postseason for a fourth straight year if the season ended today, but one statistic in particular seems glaring.

Alperen Sengun scored a career-high 37 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Houston Rockets edge the New Orleans Pelicans 106-104 on Saturday night.

Brandon Ingram scored 30 points and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Sacramento Kings 127-117 in the quarterfinals of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.

The opponent names will become more recognizable for USA Basketball now.

The Basketball World Cup started Friday and Canada sent a message.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander highlighted his 32-point night with a go-ahead baseline jumper and four clutch free throws in the final 29 seconds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 123-118 to remain alive in the Western Conference play-in tourament.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic has been ruled out of a game against New Orleans after exiting in the third quarter with a right heel injury.

CJ McCollum scored 28 points and the short-handed Pelicans opened up a 31-point lead en route to a 119-108 victory over the struggling Houston Rockets.

Zion Williamson scored 26 points and Brandon Ingram iced the game with six points in a 13-0 run in the final 2:07 to power the New Orleans Pelicans to a 119-106 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.

Trey Murphy III scored 22 points and the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans overcame Luka Doncic’s latest prolific performance to beat the Dallas Mavericks 113-111.

Zion Williamson returned from a one-year absence with 25 points and nine rebounds, powering the New Orleans Pelicans to a season-opening 130-108 rout of the Brooklyn Nets.

Zion Williamson agent Austin Brown says the star forward has agreed to a five-year extension with the New Orleans Pelicans worth $193 million.

The Houston Rockets are trading center Christian Wood, their leading scorer and rebounder this season, to the Dallas Mavericks, KPRC 2 Sports has confirmed.

Brandon Ingram scored 16 of his 30 points in the third quarter and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Phoenix Suns — playing with injured star Devin Booker — 118-103 in Game 4 on Sunday night to tie the first-round series.

Game 1s brought greatness out of some.

Chris Paul scored 19 of his 30 points during a brilliant fourth-quarter shooting display and the Phoenix Suns beat the New Orleans Pelicans 110-99 on Sunday night in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.

CJ McCollum scored 27 of his 32 points in the first half, Brandon Ingram shook foul trouble to add 27 points and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the San Antonio Spurs 113-103 on Wednesday night in a Western Conference play-in game.

Klay Thompson's 41-point performance included seven 3-pointers for the Golden State Warriors, who clinched the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 128-107 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Ja Morant had 21 points and nine assists in his return from soreness in his right knee, Dillon Brooks scored 23 points and the Memphis Grizzlies routed the New Orleans Pelicans 141-114 on Saturday night to tie the 2012-13 franchise record for victories in a season at 56.

CJ McCollum received a 90-second standing ovation in his first visit to Portland since a February trade to New Orleans, then scored 25 points to lead the Pelicans over the Trail Blazers 117-107.

Jonas Valanciunas had 32 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans emphatically snapped a four-game skid with a 130-105 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Luka Doncic had 49 points and 15 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks never trailed in a 125-118 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night, their sixth victory in seven games.

Brandon Ingram scored 26 points and the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Houston Rockets 110-97 on to extend their winning streak to four games.

Brandon Ingram scored 33 points and tied a career high with 12 assists as the New Orleans Pelicans used a big third quarter to take control of the game and get a 120-107 win over the Houston Rockets.

Devonte Graham’s 61-foot heave at the buzzer lifted the New Orleans Pelicans to a 113-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Eric Gordon and Christian Wood both scored 23 points, and the Houston Rockets beat the New Orleans Pelicans 118-108 on Sunday night for their sixth straight win.

A person familiar with the situation says the Memphis Grizzlies have agreed to trade center Jonas Valanciunas to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for center Steven Adams, guard Eric Bledsoe and an exchange of first-round choices in this week’s draft.

Toronto coach Nick Nurse is an American.

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 of his 30 points in the first half and the Utah Jazz advanced to the second round of the playoffs, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 126-110 on Wednesday night in Game 5.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, and the top-seeded Utah Jazz grabbed a 3-1 lead by holding off the Memphis Grizzlies 120-113.

Donovan Mitchell scored 10 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and the top-seeded Utah Jazz beat the Memphis Grizzlies 121-111 on Saturday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.

Dillon Brooks had 31 points and seven rebounds and the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies beat the top-seeded Utah Jazz 112-109 in the opening game of their first-round playoff series.

Ja Morant made consecutive jumpers in the final 48 seconds of overtime and scored 35 points, Memphis had an answer for every Stephen Curry flurry, and the Grizzlies are headed back to the playoffs for the first time in four years after holding off the Golden State Warriors 117-112 in a thrilling play-in game.

Dillon Brooks scored eight of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to help put Memphis ahead to stay and the Grizzlies eliminated the San Antonio Spurs 100-96 on Wednesday night in the first Western Conference play-in game.

Nikola Jokic scored 47 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer late in the second overtime, and the Denver Nuggets rallied to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 139-137.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, right, goes to the basket as Memphis Grizzlies center Xavier Tillman defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 12, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)LOS ANGELES – Anthony Davis scored 35 points and LeBron James had 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the Los Angeles Lakers' seventh consecutive victory, 115-105 over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. Kyle Kuzma had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the defending NBA champions, while Davis finished two points shy of his season high in his return from a two-game absence with an Achilles injury. Montrezl Harrell scored 14 points for Los Angeles, which extended its longest win streak in a year even after falling behind by 20 points in the first quarter. "We should never be down 20 points at any point in time with the personnel that we have on our team.

Houston Rockets guard John Wall, left, handles the ball against Memphis Grizzlies forward Kyle Anderson in the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)MEMPHIS, Tenn. – John Wall scored 22 points, Eric Gordon added 20 and the Houston Rockets beat the Memphis Grizzlies 115-103 on Thursday night. Wall said the veteran Rockets have told Tate, a rookie, to stay within his game and take advantage of his shots, particularly corner 3s. Rookie Desmond Bane led the Grizzlies with 16 points, while Ja Morant added 15. After shooting 26% from 3-point range against the Thunder, the Rockets were 19 of 45 (42.2%) against Memphis. For the Houston game, select groups of season ticket holders were added to the previous groups, meaning up to 2,000 people or about 11% of capacity.

That can mean a positive COVID-19 test, an inconclusive test or potential exposure to someone who tested positive. He was pulled at halftime of Memphis’ game against Brooklyn on Jan. 8 but played the Grizzlies’ next game Jan. 11 against Cleveland. ___The Atlantic Coast Conference announced that Saturday's Pittsburgh-Boston College men’s basketball game has been postponed. The conference also said Pittsburgh's men's game at Wake Forest scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 7, will move to this Saturday evening. ___Georgetown’s men’s basketball game at Xavier scheduled for next week has been postponed because of a coronavirus-related issue in the Hoyas’ program.

Memphis Grizzlies' Jonas Valanciunas (17) and Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns get tangled up in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)Another NBA game was called off Sunday because of coronavirus concerns, and the Memphis Grizzlies said center Jonas Valanciunas will not play Monday because of the league’s health and safety protocols. He was pulled at halftime of Memphis’ game against Brooklyn on Jan. 8 because of some sort of virus-related issue, but was back on the court for the Grizzlies’ next game Jan. 11 against Cleveland. Minnesota, which had a game Friday called off after Karl-Anthony Towns revealed he tested positive, is scheduled to play Monday in Atlanta. Cleveland’s game in Washington on Sunday also was called off, as was the planned rematch between the clubs on Monday.

James had 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, Anthony Davis added 17 points and nine rebounds as the Lakers opened a two-game set in Memphis with a 108-94 victory over the Grizzlies on Sunday night. “We were doing a lot of jostling with Memphis,” James said, “At the start of the fourth, I wanted to try and implement myself and my scoring a little bit more. After surrendering 36 points in the first quarter, the Lakers held the Grizzlies to 18, 21, and 19 over the final three periods. …G Alex Caruso missed his fourth game under the health and safety protocol. Gasol played 10-plus seasons with the Grizzlies.

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, right, wears a boot on his left foot after suffering an injury during the team's NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Monday, Dec. 28, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)NEW YORK – Ja Morant exited with a sprained ankle but the Memphis Grizzlies earned their first victory of the season without him, outlasting the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 116-111 in overtime Monday night. Morant rejoined his teammates on the bench in the second half with his foot in a walking boot. Kyle Anderson scored a career-high 28 points and Dillon Brooks added 24 for the Grizzlies, who had dropped their first two games. The Nets opened a six-game homestand, their longest since playing six straight games at Barclays Center during the 2015-16 season.

Portland finished eighth in the West, Memphis was ninth, and the Grizzlies needed to sweep a two-game matchup to advance. They had a chance, up eight in the final quarter, before Portland did what Portland does in the bubble find a way at the end. The Grizzlies' 42-point third quarter matched the second-highest scoring period of the season for Memphis and was the second-highest scoring third quarter in franchise history. LOOKING AHEADThe Lakers went 2-1 against the Blazers this season, with the road team winning all three games. Anthony Davis (32.0 ppg) and LeBron James (24.7 ppg) led the Lakers; Lillard (36.0 ppg) and Whiteside (22.0 ppg) led the Blazers.

8 team two straight times to advance to face the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for a second straight season. The Grizzlies were eighth in the West with a 3 -game lead over the rest of the pack when they arrived at Florida. TIP-INSBucks: Starting guard Wesley Matthews missed a second straight game with a sore right adductor. UP NEXTThe Bucks will face the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs.