NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The defending NBA champions generally aren’t the best opponents to try getting well against.

And to the surprise of few, the ailing New Orleans Pelicans continued ailing Monday night (Nov. 17), getting manhandled by the league’s best team -- the Oklahoma City Thunder -- in a 126-109 loss at the Smoothie King Center.

The Pelicans (2-12) scored the first basket of the game -- an early 16-footer by rookie Jeremiah Fears -- and then never led again as they lost their sixth consecutive game.

New Orleans is 0-2 since Saturday, when head coach Willie Green was fired and replaced with interim coach James Borrego.

The Pelicans lost by 18 points Sunday to the Golden State Warriors and by 17 Monday to the Thunder (14-1), admittedly stiff competition for a struggling team tryi

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