Swatting away Jaren Jackson Jr.’s last-second 3-point heave, Chet Holmgren officially slammed the door shut of a potential upset against OKC.
The Oklahoma City Thunder scrapped a 118-112 win over the depleted Memphis Grizzlies. OKC finished its three-game season series against Memphis with a sweep. The back-and-forth contest saw 21 lead changes and eight ties. It took until the tail end of the third frame for a double-digit lead to materialize.
“Credit them, they were sharp tonight from the jump,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “We kinda paced with them in the first because we made some jump shots. But wasn’t our best first half, I thought we came out of halftime in a good way… That was an impressive show of resilience I thought.”
Unlike the first two matchups, the Grizzlies showed a fight with an early 9-3 lead two minutes into the contest. The Thunder answered back and finished the first quarter with a close 29-27 lead. Both teams exchanged buckets in the second frame as each scored 27 points apiece. OKC entered halftime with a 56-54 advantage.
The Thunder started the second half with seven straight points to build a nine-point lead with 10 minutes left in the frame. The Grizzlies responded and cut it to a one-point deficit just a few minutes later. OKC closed out the third quarter on a 21-8 run to enter the fourth quarter holding a 91-78 advantage.
It felt like the Thunder finally created a serious cushion on the scoreboard after both teams stayed close to each other. The start of the final frame quickly dispelled any hopes of a relaxed win for the Thunder as the Grizzlies rattled off eight straight points to turn it into a five-point game with over 10 minutes left.
After a timeout, OKC responded with a 14-5 run to build an 11-point lead with 5:48 left in the game. The Grizzlies cut it to a five-point deficit with a minute left, which proved to be the closest they were in the final six minutes of the contest.
Despite Memphis’ best efforts to milk out the final seconds and create some intrigue, OKC managed to kill time off the clock and hit on its free throws to close out the resilient road win.
The Thunder shot 52% from the field and went 12-of-35 (34.3%) from 3. They went 16-of-21 from the free-throw line. They also dished out 25 assists on 45 baskets. Six Thunder players scored double-digit points.
The Thunder’s young trio totaled 65 points in the win. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 20 points and seven rebounds; Jalen Williams finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists; Chet Holmgren totaled 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies shot 46% from the field and went a sizzling 18-of-44 (40.9%) from 3. It was an uncharacteristic hot night from outside for one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league. They had 34 assists on 37 baskets and went a busy 20-of-26 from the free-throw line.
After a two-month absence, Desmond Bane returned from a gruesome ankle sprain and led the way for the Grizzlies with 22 points and went 4-of-9 from 3. Jackson Jr. had 19 points, six rebounds and seven assists. GG Jackson scored 19 points on 5-of-14 shooting.
“They’re a good team and played with great energy tonight and really tested us,” Daigneault said. “We had to really go and earn that win.”
It was ugly, but the Thunder escaped with the win, which is what ultimately matters at this stage of the season. OKC will now enjoy a rare three-day break before preparing for the stretch run of the year.
“It’s extremely important this late in the season,” Holmgren said on fighting it out for the first seed. “It’s also good to see all the work we’re putting in is putting us in a good position. But we have a long ways to go.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: C
It was a rare quiet night for Gilgeous-Alexander, who couldn’t gain any rhythm against the short-handed Grizzlies.
In 35 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander had 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, seven rebounds and three assists. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and — to show how much of an off night he had — shot 3-of-6 from the free-throw line.
The 25-year-old was limited to 10 points in the first half. He looked much better in the third quarter with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting but was scoreless in the final frame of a close contest.
It just wasn’t Gilgeous-Alexander’s night as the Grizzlies did a good job at mudding up the game. Alas, these types of outings happen throughout an 82-game regular season — even for someone as notoriously consistent as him.
“He’s gotta either beat it with the dribble or he’s gotta get it out of there,” Daigneault said on the doubles Gilgeous-Alexander faced. “We have to attack and make teams pay. That’s our philosophy, we don’t want to be passive.”
Jalen Williams: A
With Gilgeous-Alexander’s off night, Williams stepped up and led the Thunder to this road win.
In 35 minutes, Williams had 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists and two blocks. He shot 1-of-3 from 3 and went 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.
The 22-year-old got to his spots with ease around the paint and had an active fourth quarter with eight shot attempts. As he’s done all season, he closed out the win for OKC with a dominant final frame.
After being limited to 12 points in the first three quarters, Williams went off for 11 points in the fourth quarter. He played the entire 12 minutes. He scored five points in the final three minutes to close out the win.
“It’s nice,” Williams said on OKC’s scoring balance. “I think when you have multiple threats on the floor, it makes it easier for everybody to kinda find their own way within the offense and allows guys to be efficient and get great shots.”
Chet Holmgren: A
After catching an alley-oop from a floating pass by Wallace in the fourth quarter, Holmgren returned the favor in the final seconds with a rookie-to-rookie connection on an assist to a Wallace dunk.
In 32 minutes, Holmgren had 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 11 rebounds and three blocks. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Holmgren had a hot start with seven points in the first quarter. He had an even stronger second half with 15 points to help make up for Gilgeous-Alexander’s quiet performance. The 21-year-old had an efficient night near the rim, going 5-of-7 inside the paint.
On defense, he helped limit Memphis to 36 points on 55% shooting inside of the paint as its outside shooting did most of the heavy lifting for its scoring. It was a very productive night for the seven-foot rookie on both ends as he was aggressive with his shot.
“I’m just trying to make the right play over and over,” Holmgren said of his shot-blocking. “Being in the right position and then having good discipline on defense, good hand discipline, putting your chest on guys and keeping them in front. Things like that.”
Cason Wallace: B
Slamming it in thanks to a savvy backdoor cut, Wallace put the finishing touches for the Thunder with 44 seconds left. The assisted dunk was a direct result of the 20-year-old’s hounding defense, who stole the ball from Jackson Jr. the previous possession.
It was the second steal-and-slam of the game for Wallace, who’s turned into a valuable rotation piece for OKC that can seamlessly fit in with the starters when needed.
In 24 minutes, Wallace had four points on 2-of-5 shooting, four assists, three steals and two rebounds. He played the most minutes off the bench and was part of OKC’s closing lineup with 10 fourth-quarter minutes.
The early signs of a playmaker were flashed tonight for Wallace. That’ll be a major focus of his to work on in the offseason, but for now, he’s excelled at the role the Thunder’s assigned him this season as a 3-and-D player.
“He’s a ball-hawk and he gets his hands on deflections that are kinda unexpected,” Daigneault said on Wallace. “… He’s just a disruptive defender with great instincts who’s only going to continue to improve.”
