A 20-7 Pelicans run made things tighter than they had been all night. However, New Orleans' second-half fun was over with just a ten-point loss to show for it. Oklahoma City waltzed into the sleepy Smoothie King Center, with fans dressed as empty seats, swelling a 30-point lead en route to a wire-to-wire 119-109 win. A game that saw no lead change or even a tie past the 0-0 starting place.

This result isn't exactly surprising. On top of being the far more talented team, the Thunder have had the number of the Pelicans for going on three years now.

The Thunder ripped the ball out of the hands of disengaged Pelicans and raced its way to a massive first-half lead via transition chances which started with an 18-5 run off the opening tip. Oklahoma City posted 60 paint points, 28 fastbreak points and made 52.9% of its shots from the floor. Just utter domination of a depleted Pelicans flock.

While handing New Orleans its 19th loss, banishing the Pelicans to the basement of the Western Conference, isn't that impressive on paper - the Thunder still deserve credit for taking care of business.

After a 3-1 road trip that included wins over the Kings, Warriors and Lakers with a tight loss to the Rockets to boot - the latter three games being nail-bitters - Oklahoma City had a chance to take a beat with a softened schedule.

The week that laid ahead wasn't near as daunting as its feast week slate. With tilts against the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors and New Orleans Pelicans. This is still professional basketball, upsets happen nightly. The Denver Nuggets just handed the Wizards its first win since October! (Despite Nikola Jokic's eye-popping night)

So to come away from that stretch a perfect 3-0 with a trio of uncompetitive contests is a mighty feather in the cap of a team that not only routinely spouts a 0-0 mindset but embodies it.

Sure, the second half got messy, after a 40-point second quarter the Thunder only posted 42 points in the third and fourth frames combined! Yes, Oklahoma City turned the ball over at an alarming rate, with an abnormal 18 giveaways to match the Pelicans' carelessness with the rock.

But the Thunder still covered the spread and controlled the game. Even as Mark Daigneault was hopping off the bench to call timeouts to kill New Orleans' runs, the game's momentum never felt swung in the Pelicans' direction, as they could get no closer than a nine deficient.

For the second straight week, the Oklahoma City Thunder earn an A+ grade for its seven-day stretch. This brings the Thunder's record to 18-5, good enough for the No. 1 seed in the West by 2.5 games.

Up next, perhaps the biggest test of its season. An elimination date with the Dallas Mavericks who have out-dueled the Thunder consistently over the last two seasons in the NBA Cup on Tuesday.