A normally raucous arena was mostly silent, with fans not allowed yet at games in Oklahoma City. A normally festive New Year’s Eve was subdued for the same reason. In his return to the Sooner State for the first time as a Thunder opponent, Steven Adams didn’t receive the usual “welcome back” from a sellout crowd, but he did pick up something more tangible: a win to wrap up 2020.
Meanwhile, fellow New Orleans veteran pickup Eric Bledsoe played his best game since the opener vs. Toronto, spearheading the Pelicans to a one-sided win. Oklahoma City remained competitive for much of the first three quarters, but the visitors pulled away in the fourth period, despite losing Brandon Ingram to an ejection for a flagrant-2 foul.