Friday’s game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies was billed as a superstar matchup between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ja Morant — two of the best young guards in the league.
Gilgeous-Alexander entered the night averaging 32.3 points on 54.6 percent shooting and receiving MVP praise from national pundits. Meanwhile, Morant continued to play like his usual dominant self, averaging 29.3 points and 6.8 assists entering the game.
Instead, both turned in mundane performances as Gilgeous-Alexander scored a season-low in points and Morant exited the game in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.
The Non-Morant Grizzlies stepped up big time in this game and helped secure their 10th win of the season.
Starters Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds and John Konchar scored 19 points. Off the bench, Santi Aldama scored 15 points and Tyus Jones scored 13 points.
In the end, the Grizzlies defeated the Thunder, 121-110.
The Thunder were able to keep it within reach the entire game but were not able to make a serious run at taking their first lead of the game. The Grizzlies were able to answer back any potential Thunder run and put out the fire.
So what was the difference in this game? The charity stripe.
The Thunder shot 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) while the Grizzlies shot 29-of-40 (72.5 percent) from the free-throw line. A 29-attempt difference and a 20-point difference in an 11-point loss.
The culprit for the wide difference in free throws? The Thunder committed 28 fouls to the Grizzlies’ 13 fouls.
Allowing 30 fast-break points also certainly didn’t help either — especially when the Thunder only scored six of their own fast-break points.
Outside of those two areas, the Thunder were able to keep up with the Grizzlies in the rest of the offensive categories, but a free-throw and fast-break disparity that large requires almost a perfect performance in other areas of the game and the Thunder simply did not do that.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: C-
As mentioned earlier, this was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s lowest-scoring game of the season. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting, six assists and six rebounds.
It did not feel like Gilgeous-Alexander really made an impact in this game and the Grizzlies did a great job at making him inconsequential. The quiet performance could also be a result of Gilgeous-Alexander running out of juice at the end of a four-game road trip and the fourth game in six nights.
Traveling that many miles on top of being the first option on a team probably equate to laying the occasional egg.
Overall, it’s nothing to be too concerned about and this performance could be chalked up as the occasional bad game from a great player.
What a WILD move from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 🤯@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/rXML93xQVm
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) November 19, 2022
DEEP wide-open triple for Shai 👌@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/cnZincsNwV
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) November 19, 2022
Josh Giddey: C
Don’t let the box score stats fool you.
While Josh Giddey did finish with 20 points, 11 assists and six rebounds, eight of those points came in the fourth quarter — and to decipher even further, four of those points came in the final minute when the game was essentially decided.
While it’s not an end-all-be-all stat, the Thunder were outscored by 13 points in Giddey’s 37 minutes — the same number for his backcourt partner Gilgeous-Alexander.
It was just not a good night for either guard.
Giddey also missed a pair of three-pointers late in the game that could’ve swung the game to the Thunder’s favor. The more critical miss came in an extended five-against-four situation after Morant hurt his ankle and the possession resulted in a missed Giddey three.
Overall, Giddey shot 10-of-20 from the field and went 10-of-16 inside the paint.
While the playmaking from Giddey is awesome, it’s hard not to bump down his grade to average due to his shooting troubles.
That's TOUGH, Josh 🔥
There's a new option to watch the Thunder. Learn More: https://t.co/YioxgSU4nH@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/QYOvLWYP0f
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) November 19, 2022
Giddey finds J-Dub for an easy slam 💪@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/B3XT82yTvq
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) November 19, 2022
Wigs draws the attention to find a cutting Josh Giddey 🤝 pic.twitter.com/HpKAJCIsfe
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 19, 2022
Giddey slips in for the lay up pic.twitter.com/8tufrQApKO
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 19, 2022
Clear the lane! 🛫@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/yZHsew9FOb
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 19, 2022
Jalen Williams: A
In a forgettable game, Jalen Williams was one of the few bright spots for the Thunder.
In his fourth start of the season, Williams finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, seven assists and six rebounds.
Williams was able to score on both self-created shots and off of assists from his teammates. A healthy scoring mix for the rookie wing.
Williams’ playmaking was also in full display this game as he finished with seven assists.
JDub drops a pretty dime off to Shai in the paint! pic.twitter.com/MHBbFhHKXi
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 19, 2022
Aleksej Pokusevski: A
It looked like it was going to be another positive Aleksej Pokusevski game.
After 14 minutes, Pokusevski scored 10 points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting and three blocks. This included going 2-of-2 from three.
Sharing the court with Gilgeous-Alexander, Morant and Jackson Jr., one could argue that Pokusevski was the best player on the floor in the first one-plus quarters of the game.
Alas, a left ankle sprain he suffered after Jackson Jr. bumped into him on an inbound play cut his night short. Pokusevski was in clear pain, clutching his left ankle and hobbled his way into the locker room.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault confirmed after the game it was the same ankle he hurt against the Boston Celtics this past Monday.
Hopefully it’s nothing serious as Pokusevski is starting to find his groove as an NBA player. The last thing the 20-year-old needs is an extended absence that would ruin the momentum he’s gathered over the last few weeks.
Poku block ➡️ connects from downtown 👌 pic.twitter.com/RejpAiO5kI
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 19, 2022
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl: A
To wrap up player grades, let’s talk about the Thunder plus-minus leader tonight.
In 28 minutes, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl finished with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, seven rebounds and three blocks. The Thunder outscored the Grizzlies by 13 points when he was on the floor.
Robinson-Earl was given the starting nod in the second half as he and Mike Muscala replaced Pokusevski and Williams.
This has been a common unique coaching strategy by Daigneault. It clearly paid off with Robinson-Earl as he scored 12 of his 14 points in the latter two quarters.
JRE flies in for clean up! Thunder close the lead to 6 pic.twitter.com/TWyrBMOwEP
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 19, 2022
