Story & Photos
By Michael Kinney
OKLAHOMA CITY- If Oklahoma City had any bit of nervousness in their bodies, they sure didn’t show it. In Game 1 of their first-round series against Memphis, they came out of the gates like they were trying to end the entire postseason in one afternoon.
After leading by 56 points, Oklahoma City rolled to a 131-80 victory at the Paycom Center Sunday. The 51-point margin of victory is the most ever in a Game 1. They were only eight points from breaking the largest margin of victory in NBA postseason history.
The Grizzlies, who earned the No. 8 seed after fighting their way through the play-in tournament, were unable to do anything to stop the Thunder in the first half. Even worse, they were unable to put up a fight in the second half.
At one point in the third quarter, Oklahoma had doubled up Memphis and led 92-45 after a 24-9 run.
Above, Memphis guard attempts to get his shot off over the defense of Isaiah Hartenstein.
“I feel like the ball had energy tonight,” OKC center Chet Holmgren said. “The ball was moving around. Everybody was making the right reads.”
One of the more remarkable feats of the night is that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t have to turn in some Superman-type type performance. The MVP candidate finished with 15 points in just 23 minutes of action. He was out of the game before the start of the fourth.
Sunday was more of a team collective beatdown. When Jalen Williams wasn’t throwing uppercuts, Holmgren and Isiah Hartenstein took care of the body blows while Aaron Wiggins connected on the knockout punches.
Williams tallied 20 points on 10 of 16 shooting. Holmgren pitched in with 19 points and 10 boards while Hartenstein added 14 points and five assists. Wiggins led all scorers with 21 points in the win.
“When you plan on being with a team for years at a time. You’re still trying to figure each other out,” said Williams. “Constantly trying to improve.
Morant was the only Memphis starter to reach double figures. However, he had to work for his team high 17 points. He shot 6 of 17 from the field and made only one of his six shots from behind the arc.
Marvin Bagley also posted 17 points off the Grizzlies’ bench.
“I tried to impact the game with my energy,” Bagley said. “The skills and the tools that I have, just trying to put that out there with the minutes I was given.”
The two teams will face off again on Tuesday in Game 2 of the series. Memphis needs to find a way to put the dismantling they just experienced out of their mind and start over from scratch. Almost as if Game 1 never happened.
“We’ll never play that bad again,” said Morant.
For the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City, it’s a much scarier prospect. Gilgeous-Alexander is going to shoot better from the field. If the rest of Oklahoma City continues to play near the level they showed Sunday, Tuesday could get even worse for Memphis as they try and overcome a hungry Thunder team and a raucous fan base that is just as hungry.
“It’s one of one for sure,” Williams said of the Thunder fans. “It’s very special, something that nobody in our team takes for granted, and it’s very cool that it’s in Oklahoma. It’s like we are the only pro team here for real.”
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