"That dirty a** water"- Charles Barkley vehemently mocks Pelicans for losing to Thunder by 21 points
Charles Barkley has already counted out the New Orleans Pelicans, as they fell 106-85 to the OKC Thunder on Saturday to trail 0-3 in the series. Rather than suggesting they go to Cancun for their offseason, he jokingly remarked that they should go to Galveston, which he humorously described as having "dirty a**" water.
Following OKC's decisive victory over the Pelicans in Game 3, Shaquille O'Neal asked Barkley on Inside the NBA where the Pelicans should go.
Barkley jokingly responded that they should head to Galveston, Texas.
"That dirty a** water,” Barkley said. “We're not even going to send them to Cancun. We're gonna send them to Galveston, where that dirty a** water be washed up on the shore. You people think they're at the beach. We're not gonna send you to Cancun.”
Adding further insult to injury, Barkley remarked that the Pelicans didn't even try and therefore do not deserve plane tickets.
“Y'all drive your a** down to Galveston,” he said. “They didn't even try man. We're not giving them no plane ticket to the beach. We send their a** to Galveston, Texas, right where that dirty washed up on the beach. They can't even get in the water."
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams shine in Game 3 of Thunder-Pelicans
The Thunder entered the playoffs with uncertainties surrounding the experience of their roster. The Pelicans managed to exploit some of their weaknesses in the tightly contested Game 1, which OKC won by just two points.
Since then, the Thunder have been dominant, securing a 32-point victory in Game 2 and a 21-point win in Game 3.
It was again Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who led the charge for OKC with 24 points and eight assists in Game 3.
Josh Giddey delivered his strongest scoring performance of the series, contributing 21 points, while Jalen Williams also shined with 21 points. Giddey added eight rebounds and six assists, while Williams recorded nine rebounds and five assists.
Chet Holmgren didn't have the most productive offensive night, managing just six points on eight shots, but he contributed eight rebounds and four blocks. Lu Dort drilled four 3-pointers to help the Thunder's cause.
Brandon Ingram had his most impressive showing of the series but still fell short of the 20-point mark, scoring 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting. CJ McCollum and Herb Jones contributed 16 and 15 points, respectively.
The Thunder, who had the fourth-best defensive rating in the regular season, have prevented the Pelicans from scoring 100 points in all three games of the series.