Thunder Dominate Grizzlies to Take 2-0 Lead in Playoff Series
Oklahoma City, OK – In a thrilling display of basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder outclassed the Memphis Grizzlies 118-99 on Tuesday night, taking a commanding 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series. According to reports from ESPN, the Thunder’s impressive performance was led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 27 points.
The Thunder’s victory was a strong follow-up to their record-setting 131-80 win on Sunday in the series opener. As noted by ESPN, Memphis was looking to prove themselves, but Oklahoma City came out with high energy, opening with a 9-0 run and holding Memphis scoreless for the first 3 1/2 minutes as the Grizzlies missed their first 10 shots.
Throughout the game, the Thunder maintained their lead, with Gilgeous-Alexander’s impressive performance complemented by Jalen Williams, who added 24 points, and Chet Holmgren, who contributed 20 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks. As quoted in the ESPN report, Gilgeous-Alexander said, "We never underestimate our opponent, no matter what… We just wanted to make an emphasis to come out and win that first quarter, set the tone for the night."
The Thunder’s coach, Mark Daigneault, praised his team’s performance, stating that "everybody that touched the court played with confidence, played the right way, and we’re going to need that… in all these games, it’s going to be different guys on different nights." This sentiment was echoed by ESPN, which noted that the Thunder’s offense produced despite Gilgeous-Alexander making just 10 of 29 shots.
The Thunder have now won all six games against the Grizzlies this season by double digits, with Jaren Jackson Jr. scoring 26 points and Ja Morant adding 23 for Memphis. As reported by ESPN, Memphis will host Game 3 on Thursday, looking to bounce back from their disappointing performance.
In the second quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander found his shot, hitting two 3-pointers 55 seconds apart to put Oklahoma City up 55-38. The Thunder led 70-52 at the break after setting a team playoff record with 12 3-pointers in the first half. Memphis started hot in the third, cutting their deficit to single digits, but the Thunder took a 90-79 lead into the fourth.
Memphis interim coach Tuomas Iisalo attributed the team’s poor performance to a lack of competitiveness in the first half, stating that "the difference was that we started seriously competing in the third quarter and basically played them to a tie after that… But it’s against a team of this caliber, we need that for the whole 48 minutes right from the get go." This assessment was supported by ESPN, which noted that Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace made an impressive play, faking out Zach Edey before going baseline for a one-handed jam that put the Thunder up 97-79.
The Thunder held Memphis scoreless for nearly four minutes to start the fourth, marking the second straight game that Memphis failed to score at least 100 points. With this win, the Thunder are one step closer to advancing in the playoffs, while the Grizzlies will look to regroup and mount a comeback in Game 3. As reported by ESPN, the AP NBA news can be found at https://apnews.com/hub/nba.
