Feb. 10—The worst team in the Western Conference played the best team in the Western Conference on Monday night.It took about one quarter to figure out which was which.The New Orleans Pelicans turned the ball over time and time again on their way to a 137-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center.The Pelicans (12-41) now have lost nine straight games. It's the third time this season the Pelicans have had losing streaks reach nine games.This time, it was turnovers that did the Pelicans in. They committed seven turnovers in the opening quarter and fell into a 33-20 hole. They had seven more turnovers in the second quarter as their deficit ballooned to 72-50. They trailed by as many as 29 in the first half.By the time the night was over, the Pels had committed 22 turnovers.'When you play them, you're in the fire,' said Pelicans' coach Willie Green. 'Over and over, we have to be consistent with making the right plays and the right passes. This is what they do. They turn teams over and it fuels their transition opportunities. It fuels their opportunities to get in the paint and score.'Including the first-round playoff sweep from last season, the Pelicans have lost nine straight games to the Thunder (43-9).'They are very similar to what we saw last season,' Green said. 'I think people kinda took them for granted. They are legit. They all complement each other. They are disciplined and they play hard. There's a reason they are one of the top teams in the NBA.'And there is a reason the Pelicans have been one of the worst, including rarely being at full strength. They were without CJ McCollum (personal reasons) and Brandon Boston (left ankle sprain) Monday.Trey Murphy scored 23 points and moved into third in franchise history in made 3-pointers. Murphy now has 564 3-pointers. He passed former Pelican Brandon Ingram, who finished his time in New Orleans with 560. Murphy now trails only McCollum (644) and Jrue Holiday (628).Zion Williamson scored 17 points. OKC's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA's scoring leader and the favorite to win league MVP, led the Thunder with 31 points. OKC led by as many as 39 points. The Thunder made a franchise record 27 3-pointers.
