Schedule and 2023-24 Results
Regular Season Records: Oklahoma City 57-25, New Orleans 49-33
Game 1 on Sunday, 21 April: New Orleans loses at Oklahoma City, 94-pts-92
Game 2 on Wednesday, 24 April: New Orleans loses at Oklahoma City, 124-pts-92
Game 3 on Saturday, 27 April: Oklahoma City wins at New Orleans, 106-pts-85
Game 4 on Monday, 29 April: Oklahoma City wins at New Orleans, 97-pts-89

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 4: The Oklahoma City Thunder visited and defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 97-pts-89 to complete a 4-games-nil best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1570 victory. With the series 1570 win, the Oklahoma City Thunder improve their best-of-7 NBA playoff series record to 11-10 overall and 6-5 in the Preliminary round. With the series 1570 loss, the New Orleans Pelicans see their best-of-7 NBA playoff series record fall to 1-4 overall and 1-3 in the Preliminary round. The win order for the victorious Oklahoma City Thunder in series 1570 was WWWW: Series 1570 thus becomes the 36th NBA Preliminary-round series, the 94th NBA series (all rounds), and the 254th MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to follow that win order to completion. The series 1570 series victory by the Oklahoma City Thunder marks the first best-of-7 NBA playoff series victory since series 1313 (over the San Antonio Spurs in the 2016 NBA Quarterfinals), and ends a five-series losing streak by Oklahoma City. The New Orleans Pelicans in series 1570 held a lead after only one quarter of the entire series (a one-point lead after three quarters of series 1570 Game 4).

After Game 3: The Oklahoma City Thunder visited and bested the New Orleans Pelicans 106-pts-85 to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1570 lead of 3-games-nil. When leading a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 3-games-nil, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a series record of 3-0 and a Game 4 record of 1-2. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 3-games-nil, the New Orleans Pelicans have a series record of 0-1 and a Game 4 record of 0-1. The previous best-of-7 NBA playoff series in which the New Orleans Pelicans trailed 3-games-nil was series 1273, in the 2015 NBA Preliminary-round to the Golden State Warriors: New Orleans would lose Game 4 and be thus swept by the Warriors. The Oklahoma City Thunder in series 1570 have become the 402nd MLB/NBA/NHL team to take a 3-games-nil lead in a best-of-7 playoff series, and the sixth to do so in Spring 2024.

After Game 2: The Oklahoma City Thunder hosted and bested the New Orleans Pelicans 124-pts-92 to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1570 lead of 2-games-nil. When leading a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 2-games-nil, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a series record of 4-0 and a Game 3 record of 3-1. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 2-games-nil, the New Orleans Pelicans have a series record of 0-2 and a Game 3 record of 1-1. The series 1570 Game 2 victory by the Oklahoma City Thunder ends a five-Game 2 losing streak (irrespective of Game 1 outcome) by the Thunder in best-of-7 NBA playoff Game 2s.

After Game 1: The Oklahoma City Thunder hosted and bested the New Orleans Pelicans 94-pts-92 to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1570 lead of 1-game-nil. When leading a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a series record of 6-4 and a Game 2 record of 4-6 (with an active five-Game 2 losing streak). When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the New Orleans Pelicans have a series record of 0-3 and a Game 2 record of 1-2.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2023-24 NBA regular season, the Oklahoma City Thunder finished eight games ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans. From 1947 through the 2023 NBA Finals round, when NBA teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by eight regular-season games, they have posted a best-of-7 playoff series record of 27-8 (.771) in those series against those opponents. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1570 is the 21st best-of-7 NBA playoff series for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the fifth for the New Orleans Pelicans. In best-of-7 NBA playoff series, the Oklahoma City Thunder have an all-rounds series record of 10-10 (with an active five-series losing streak), a Preliminary-round series record of 5-5 (with an active four Preliminary-round series losing streak), and a Game 1 record of 10-10, while the New Orleans Pelicans have an all-rounds series record of 1-3, a Preliminary-round series record of 1-2, and a Game 1 record of 1-3. Series 1570 is the first best-of-7 NBA playoff series meeting between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans. In all four of their best-of-7 NBA Preliminary-round playoff series, the New Orleans Pelicans have seen their Game 1 outcome presage their series outcome (one win, three losses).