NEW ORLEANS -- Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams was on his hands and knees after taking a hard shot to the eye on the opening possession of a pivotal playoff game.
By the third quarter, Williams was draining a pair of three-pointers during a 9-0 run that had the New Orleans Pelicans reeling.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points, Williams and Josh Giddey each had 21 and the Thunder beat the Pelicans 106-85 on Saturday to take a 3-0 lead in their NBA Western Conference first-round playoff series.
"Dub's very talented," Gilgeous-Alexander said of Williams, who has averaged about 20 points in the series and scored 13 of his Game 3 points in the second half. "He was clearly big tonight, very impressive and nothing we're not used to."
The top-seeded Thunder entered the playoffs answering a lot of questions about the relative youth and inexperience on its roster -- and that appeared justified after a two-point escape at home in Game 1 against the eighth-seeded Pelicans.
Since then, the Thunder have posted victory margins of 32 in Game 2 and 21 in Game 3, in no small part because of a relentless defensive effort that has kept the Pelicans to 92 or fewer points in all three games of the series.
"We were ready to play," Thunder Coach Mark Daignault said. "Our physicality again, our defense and focus on that end of the floor was really, really good, made them earn everything. And I thought that set the tone."
Oklahoma City hit 17 of 36 (47.2%) from three-point range and held a lead of 10 points or more throughout the second half, going up by as many as 24 in the fourth quarter. By then, a contingent of Thunder fans could be heard chanting "OKC! OKC!" as New Orleans fans filed out.
"We adjusted really well to the flow of the game. We got good looks," Giddey said. "They threw a lot of different looks at us but we've got a lot of weapons on the floor at all times. So, guys made the right play, the extra pass."
The Pelicans, who've been without star forward Zion Williamson during the series because of his hamstring injury, will try to avoid elimination at home in Game 4 on Monday night.
"It's not over," Pelicans Coach Willie Green said of his message to the team. "Look, we've got another game here at home and we're not going to fix all of our issues tonight. Go home, have a good meal and we'll come back (Sunday) and practice and go over what we need to do and get ready for the next game."
History is not on their side. No team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
"You can't take your foot off the gas no matter what the lead is in a series," Giddey said. "Neither team looks at this series as over."
Brandon Ingram scored 19 points and CJ McCollum had 16 for New Orleans, which struggled to hit from the perimeter and to take care of the ball.
The Pelicans, who shot just 27.7% from three-point range during the series' first two games combined, improved only marginally in their return home, hitting 28.1% (9 of 32). New Orleans also turned the ball over 21 times, leading to 23 Thunder points.
The game began ominously for the Thunder when Williams took a forearm to the face from Ingram while attempting a driving floater and fell to his hands and knees.
No foul was called on the collision, which sent Williams to the locker room for much of the first quarter before he checked back in late in the period.
The game was competitive until the Thunder went on a 14-0 run in the second quarter that gave Oklahoma City a 54-39 lead.
The surge began with a three-pointer by Gilgeous-Alexander before Lu Dort connected on three in a row from deep.
"I'm sure us turning the ball over didn't help," said Pelicans wing Trey Murphy III, who scored 10 points. "Then they were just moving the ball really well and we had some defensive breakdowns. They were making shots and capitalizing off of our mistakes."
After McCollum's three-pointer cut the Pelicans' deficit to 12, they had a chance to get closer in the final seconds of the half, but Gilgeous-Alexander stole the ball from McCollum and was fouled.
Gilgeous-Alexander hit two free throws to give the Thunder a 60-46 lead at halftime.
CELTICS 104,
HEAT 84
MIAMI -- Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 22 points, and Boston soundly beat Miami to a take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Tatum added 10 rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who led Game 3 wire-to-wire and reclaimed the home-court edge that they lost when Miami won Game 2 in Boston. Kristaps Porzingis had 18 points and Derrick White scored 16 for the Celtics, who used runs of 12-3, 11-0 and 20-8 in the first half to take full control.
Bam Adebayo scored 20 points for eighth-seeded Miami, which remains without starters Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier because of injuries. Nikola Jovic and Tyler Herro each scored 15 for the Heat, who got 12 from Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Game 4 is Monday in Miami, where the Celtics are 9-2 in their last 11 games and 6-1 in their last seven playoff games.
It was a season low in points scored for Miami, a season low in points allowed for Boston.
Bounce-back efforts have been a trend for Boston this season. The Celtics -- the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs -- don't lose often, and when they do, they tend to just come out and win their next one. Boston is now 15-4 in the game immediately following a loss this season, its average victory margin in those games is 12.2 points.
Boston never trailed in Game 1, a 114-94 win, and never trailed in Game 3 either, on its way to beating Miami for the fifth time in six meetings this season. The Celtics started slowly and Miami started slower, Boston leading 21-12 after one and setting the tone for how nothing would come easily for the Heat.
It was Miami's lowest-scoring first quarter in its last 197 games, dating back to the 2022 playoffs -- also against Boston, when the Heat managed 11 points in the opening 12 minutes of Game 4 of that East finals series.
MAGIC 112,
CAVALIERS 89
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Franz Wagner had 34 points and 13 rebounds, and Orlando held Cleveland scoreless for a second-half stretch of almost seven minutes in a victory that tied the Eastern Conference first-round series at 2-2.
Wagner had 10 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter, matching Cleveland's total for the entire period, when the Magic outscored them 37-10 and turned what had been a nine-point halftime deficit into their second consecutive romp.
Jonathan Isaac (14 points, including Orlando's only two three-pointers of the first half) and Markelle Fultz (12 points, four rebounds) gave the Magic major help off the bench. Paolo Banchero, who had 35 points in Orlando's 121-83 win in Game 3 on Thursday night, finished with nine points and five assists.
Jarrett Allen had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers. Donovan Mitchell had 18 points, all in the first half, and six assists.
Game 4 of the series will be Tuesday night in Cleveland, where the No. 4-seeded Cavaliers won the first two before getting blown out twice in Florida.
Mitchell, who shot 5 for 14, led the Cavaliers to a 60-51 halftime lead.
The Magic survived four turnovers each by Banchero and Jalen Suggs in the first quarter and tied it 41-41 midway through the second quarter. Mitchell's only three-pointer launched a 9-0 Cleveland run and the Cavs made 13 of 18 shots in a 37-point second period.
Wagner opened the second half by converting a Cleveland turnover into a layup and hitting a jump shot from the free throw line. He added a three-pointer and a three-point play on a five-minute 17-6 run that put Orlando up 68-67.
The Magic finished the quarter with 14 consecutive points, and three consecutive baskets by Wagner stretched their lead to 24 early in the fourth quarter.
Max Strus' three-pointer with 5:26 left in the third quarter accounted for the Cavs' final points of the period. They did not score again until Caris LeVert's jumper with 10:40 left in the fourth.
The game included several minor skirmishes, including a Suggs-Darius Garland face-to-face confrontation and a fourth-quarter flagrant foul on Strus for holding up Cole Anthony on a dunk attempt.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) drives to the basket against Orlando Magic guard Gary Harris (14) during the first half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) is fouled by Orlando Magic center Moritz Wagner (21) while attempting a shot during the first half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)