Pelicans' Rookies Shine Against Defending Champion OKC Thunder

It isn't easy to compete against the Oklahoma City Thunder's vaunted defense.

Just ask Steph Curry. He was held to 11 points while shooting 4-of-13 from the field against OKC before scoring 46 points in a win against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs the following night.

There's a reason Oklahoma City won the title, and has a chance to do so again this season. Despite the team's impressive performance on that end of the floor, though, a pair of rookies turned in strong showings against the Thunder on Monday night.

Jeremiah Fears and Micah Peavy each topped 15 points, but New Orleans was unable to take down OKC, falling 126-109 at the Smoothie King Center.

Fears scored a team-high 24 points, shooting 9-of-16 from the field and 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, adding a rebound and an assist in 25 minutes on the floor. Even while being guarded All-Defense honoree Lu Dort, Fears had success getting to the basket and finishing at the rim.

Coming into Monday night's matchup against the Thunder, Fears was averaging 14.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game in 13 appearances and 11 starts.

Fears' 24-point outing marks a new career high for the Oklahoma product and the second time reaching 20 points in his first 14 NBA games. The 19-year-old guard was selected No. 7 overall by New Orleans after a strong freshman year with the Sooners.

Alongside Fears, who looks to be one of the Pelicans' lone bright spots in a 2-12 season, fellow 2025 draft pick Micah Peavy had a good outing.

Peavy scored 16 points in 24 minutes, shooting 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc against Oklahoma City. The Georgetown product added 4 rebounds and 4 assists while comitting 0 turnovers.

The No. 40 overall selection, Peavy hasn't gotten much time on the court to start his rookie season, but the skilled wing player could start to see an uptick in minutes. With New Orleans likely out of the playoff hunt, the team could lean into playing its younger players to learn more about the roster.

If Peavy continues to play well, he could earn a regular spot in the Pelicans rotation as the season progresses.

Derik Queen has had a few solid games to start his NBA career, but the big man struggled to hit shots against Chet Holmgren and company. The No. 13 overall pick went 3-of-10 from the field, finishing with 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.