The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 131-80 in Game 1 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs on Sunday. The 51-point win is officially the fifth-largest postseason win in NBA history.
MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had arguably his worst game of the season, but OKC’s elite depth took care of business on both ends of the floor. Jalen Williams finished with 20 points, six assists and five rebounds while Aaron Wiggins had 21 points and four rebounds off the bench.
TOP NEWS
For Memphis, Ja Morant had 17 points while Jaren Jackson Jr. scored just four points on 2-13 shooting.
RELATED: SGA Responds To Draymond Green’s Claim That No One Fears OKC
OKC’s defense was as strong on Sunday as it’s ever been and held the Grizzlies to 34.4% shooting from the field and 17.6% from three.
This was Memphis’ first playoff game with new interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo, who only had nine games of regular season action to prepare for the postseason. OKC’s largest lead of the game was 56 points and the Grizzlies appeared to concede the game long before the final buzzer.
It’s a seven-game series though and the Grizzlies will be eager for redemption in Game 2, which is scheduled for Tuesday.
James Parker is an NBA writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
