Team Stats (Thunder at Pelicans) Final Score: 97-89 Rebounds: 44-50 Assists: 17-22 Blocks: 7-8 Steals: 10-10 Turnovers: 14-19 Stat Leaders (Thunder @ Pelicans) Scoring Leaders: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander/Jalen Williams, 24; CJ McCollum, 20 Rebound Leaders: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 10; Jonas Valanciusas, 13 Assist Leaders: Chet Holmgren, 5; Brandon Ingram, 6 My Player of the Game: Jonas Valanciunas Takeaways Well, the Pelicans got swept in the first-round of the NBA playoffs. The Pelicans' offense struggled this whole series, and although it didn't seem like the OKC defense was anything special, they held the Pelicans to well under 100 points per game. Turnovers were a huge issue for the Pelicans this entire playoff series. OKC's Dort shut down Brandon Ingram every game -- and it was hurtful to the Pelicans that Ingram was never able to take over or hit some of his open shots. He went 2-of-14 from the field in tonight's game. When Jordan Hawkins was put in the game, the Pelicans went on a run in the first half but then he did not play in the second half. Not sure where Jonas ends up next year, but he had a good game for the Pelicans tonight. Many times the NBA championship teams come down to who can stay healthy, and unfortunately for the Pelicans, Zion and BI got hurt at the worst time of the season. Regardless, the Pelicans won 49 games this season, we got to witness a healthy Zion for the entire regular season, we saw Herb Jones improve tremendously, and we saw Dyson Daniels and Jordan Hawkins kick off their great, young careers. There will be moves in the offseason because the Pelicans have a generational talent in Zion. For now, I appreciate everyone who has gone along on the ride with me this season. I truly believe that next year we will be back better than ever. As always, Go Pelicans! Follow The Kneaux on X , and follow me there too @SportsChrissy.

Covington High School graduate Edgerrin Cooper was drafted in the second round of the NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers. Cooper, who was a junior linebacker at Texas A&M, was drafted as the 45th overall pick. He was an All-American in 2023. As a senior at Covington High, Cooper notched 118 tackles with 22 being for a loss, two sacks, and five touchdowns on offense. The 6-2, 230-pound player had his breakout season in 2021 58 tackles with 5.5 going for a loss, half a sack, a pass deflection, and an interception. For his performance on the 2021 season, he was named to the SEC All Freshman Team. In the Aggies 2022 season finale, Cooper forced a fumble, as he helped Texas A&M end their season with a win, beating. He finished the 2022 season with 61 tackles with eight being for a loss, five pass deflections, an interception, a fumble recovery, and a forced fumble. Cooper returned to the Aggies for the 2023 season as one of their top defenders, notching his best performance against Alabama where he had 11 tackles with three going for a loss, and three sacks.

Team Stats (Thunder at Pelicans) Final Score: 106-85 Rebounds: 47-45 Assists: 27-18 Blocks: 5-2 Steals: 13-14 Turnovers: 16-20 Stat Leaders (Thunder @ Pelicans) Scoring Leaders: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 24; Brandon Ingram, 19 Rebound Leaders: Jalen Williams, 9; Larry Nance, Jr., 13 Assist Leaders: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 8; CJ McCollum, 7 My Player of the Game: Jonas Valanciunas Takeaways There is one word to describe this loss: Embarrassing The Pelicans are down 3-0 in this series after this loss, and it was a bad loss. No one looked aggressive or hungry for a win. New Orleans had more than enough wide-open shots to win this game, but they couldn't hit a bucket for anything. In fact, the Pelicans shot 28% from behind the arc. It also didn't help that OKC shot 48% from the three-point line. Were the referees bad? You already know the answer to that. The Pels did not have one player score over 20 points. There really were no highlights to this game. Pelicans need to win the next four games to make it to the next round of the playoffs. Game 4 will be played on Monday, April 29 at 8:30 pm at home.  Follow The Kneaux on X , and follow me there too @SportsChrissy.

Team Stats (Pelicans at Thunder) Final Score: 92-124 Rebounds: 34-35 Assists: 15-25 Blocks: 2-2 Steals: 4-5 Turnovers: 17-8 Stat Leaders (Pelicans @ Thunder) Scoring Leaders: Jonas Valanciunas, 19; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 33 Rebound Leaders: Jonas Valanciunas, 7; Chet Holmgren, 7 Assist Leaders: CJ McCollum, 4; Jalen Williams, 7 My Player of the Game: Jonas Valanciunas Takeaways The difference in this game was turnovers and wide open missed three-point shots. The New Orleans Pelicans scored their first 11 points from Jonas Valanciunas, and then it all went downhill from there. The Pels had NINE offensive fouls, which was excessive as the referees were calling against the Pelicans more, but the Pels shot under 30% from the three-point line. Brandon Ingram doesn't look ready to be in the spotlight as he scored 18 points -- the same number Herb Jones made. OKC scored 96 points in Game 1 but 124 in Game 2. Pelicans needs Zion ASAP. New Orleans plays next on Saturday at HOME at 2:30 pm. Follow The Kneaux on X , and follow me there too @SportsChrissy.

Mandeville High School graduate Sierra Ballard just won a national championship with the LSU Gymnastics team. Ballard is a junior at LSU and competes in the vault, balance beam and floor exercise. At the national competition, Ballard hit her career best of 9.95 on the beam. St. Tammany's parish President Mike Cooper posted on Facebook congratulating the Mandeville star, and Ballard's local gym North Shore Gymnastics also gave her a shout out on their Facebook page.  This is the first national championship for the LSU team.