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 for 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. 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 turn the final frame inconsequential as they entered with a 28-point lead. OKC led by as many as 31 points throughout the night.
The Thunder shot an impressive 46% from the field and went 11-of-36 (30.6%) from 3. OKC dished out 31 assists on 42 made baskets. They had five players score double-digit points in their easygoing win.
Shai 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 as their record drops to 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, not a whole lot to write home about for the Grizzlies.
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.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
It was another easy day in the office for Gilgeous-Alexander against a depleted Grizzlies.
In 28 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points on 8-of-18 shooting, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals. He had a busy night at the free-throw line as he shot 13-of-14. He was a game-high plus-30 on his time on the court.
Gilgeous-Alexander helped put this game to rest in the third quarter with 13 points. The All-NBA guard took advantage of a defensive-lacking Memphis backcourt and got to his spots with ease.
No shoe, no problem for SGA pic.twitter.com/CJQathp9yN
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 19, 2023
Holiday cookies 🍪 pic.twitter.com/TBZOBfmefe
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 19, 2023
Cold move 🥶 pic.twitter.com/xmvPMhTbux
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 19, 2023
Chet Holmgren: A-plus
Whatever the defensive equivalent is of having a hot hand, Holmgren has possessed that over the last two games.
It was another swat-happy night for the seven-foot rookie as he collected one block after another with ease. Memphis attempted just 31 2-pointers, with nearly a quarter of them being swallowed up by Holmgren.
In 25 minutes, Holmgren had 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting, seven blocks and six rebounds.
The 21-year-old can thank Daigneault for a pair of his blocks as OKC needed to initiate its two challenges to reverse two separate calls to Holmgren blocks.
In the last two games, Holmgren has totaled 15 blocks in 57 minutes. An unreal pace that’ll likely come back crashing down soon but shouldn’t take away from the unreal rim protection he’s provided all season long.
“Things are slowing down for him in all facets of the game,” Daigneault said on Holmgren.
Access denied ⛔️ pic.twitter.com/CxzqpuCKRx
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 19, 2023
CHET IS HAVING A GAME SO FAR. MY GOODNESS.@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/VqFhRDMYEE
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 19, 2023
Chet spin and fly by 😵💫 pic.twitter.com/9O2EkeUP8L
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 19, 2023
It's Chet Holmgren's world, we're just living in it 🌎#ThunderUp | @okcthunder pic.twitter.com/QePCnaeLK7
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 19, 2023
How, Chet? 😯
@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/NJT4NPx5mn— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 19, 2023
Josh Giddey: B
After playing a career-low 15 minutes, Giddey bounced back by collecting a double-double. In 24 minutes, he had 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 12 rebounds and four assists.
The transition was Giddey’s friends as several of his early buckets scored within a quick pace. The Grizzlies didn’t possess the manpower to stop either of OKC’s starting guards.
Giddey scored eight points in the final frame as the Thunder were up big for the entire period. In his five minutes, he went to the line four times and swished in every attempt. Getting to the free-throw line has been a huge issue for the 21-year-old this season, averaging just 1.1 attempts a game.
Giddey drives to the bucket 💨 pic.twitter.com/Yz1U0VWtLz
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 19, 2023
Kenrich Williams: B
Second in the game in plus-minus, Williams had an impactful 15 minutes. Off the bench, he had six points on 2-of-3 shooting, four rebounds and three assists. He was a plus-26 in his time on the court.
It’s been a rough stretch for Williams from outside, shooting 0-of-6 from 3 in his last four games heading into this matchup. So for him to make a couple of 3-pointers in this win could perhaps get him out of his funk.
