OKLAHOMA CITY — Rebounding Chet Holmgren’s seventh swat, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pushed the pace and suddenly slammed his brakes to send Jaren Jackson Jr. flying past the midrange jumper.
The defense-to-offense highlight sequence exemplified the type of night the Oklahoma City Thunder enjoyed in their lopsided 116-97 win over the depleted Memphis Grizzlies.
“I thought we had good poise and maturity to build that lead,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win.
It took a minute, but the Thunder eventually made light work of the short-handed Grizzlies. It was an unsurprising result considering OKC entered the night as a heavy favorite.
After the Grizzlies opened with a quick six-point advantage, the Thunder recovered and built a 34-26 lead following the first quarter. OKC’s lead expanded to 15 points at halftime.
A 26-13 scoring advantage in the third quarter helped the Thunder make the final frame inconsequential; they entered with a 28-point lead. OKC led by as many as 31 points.
The Thunder shot an impressive 46% from the field and went 11-of-36 (30.6%) from 3. OKC dished 31 assists on 42 made baskets. They had five players score double-digit points in their easy win.
Gilgeous-Alexander once again led the way with a relaxed 30 points in just three quarters as he sat out the final frame. Chet Holmgren continues to rack up blocks at an insane rate with seven in 25 minutes.
“The one thing that stands out for me is the fearlessness of him attacking those plays,” Daigneault said on Holmgren’s shot-blocking. “It’s a vulnerable position when you’re going up and contesting shots at the rim — especially at his frame. He’s always got his nose in the fight there.
“He’ll get dunked on five times in a game if it means contesting five rim shots. That’s the mental thing I respect most about him as a competitor. Forget about the shot block, he’s willing to fail, he’s willing to be embarrassed in pursuit of the right thing for the team on that play.”
Meanwhile, things were putrid for the Grizzlies, who entered the night missing several key players headlined by Ja Morant, who served the final game of his 25-game suspension.
The Grizzlies shot an ugly 35% from the field and a cold 19-of-54 (35.2%) from 3. Memphis committed 22 turnovers. In the third quarter, the Grizzlies shot an ugly 2-of-19 from the field.
It appears they’re in the midst of a lost season. They are a rough-looking 6-19 and have lost five consecutive games.
“Generally, we’re OK giving up a volume of 3s as long as they’re contested,” Daigneault said on their defense. “It means that we’re forcing teams to plan B. … If we’re forcing teams to shoot jump shots, that’s a good thing.”
Memphis’ two best players had decent outings. Desmond Bane scored 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 11 points and five rebounds. Outside of those two though, the Grizzlies did not have a whole lot to write home about.
This was a perfect way to start a five-game homestand for OKC. It enjoyed a mellow win over the struggling Grizzlies. The Thunder’s best players weren’t needed to play in the fourth quarter and took advantage of a chance to give them extra rest.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.