A poor shooting night for the Thunder resulted in a highly efficient offensive performance for the Grizzlies. As the Thunder struggled to score, Memphis took full advantage getting out into transition quickly off of Thunder missed baskets and converting easy looks in the paint.
Game Flow
Even after a three-day game break, the Thunder picked up right where it left off offensively to start the game. Cutting without the ball, finding the open man led to easy opportunities at the basket. With this intensity, the Thunder established an early tone to the game which propelled an early 12-6 lead.
However, the intensity began to fizzle for the Thunder on both sides of the floor to close out the opening quarter. The Grizzlies pressed hard while the Thunder’s offense dwindled going on a 12-4 run and capturing the lead. Behind 10 fast break points versus zero for the Thunder, the Grizzlies thrived in their comfort zone getting out in transition after quick shots from the Thunder. Meanwhile, OKC struggled to score. The same good looks weren’t falling from the mid-range or from behind the arc for the Thunder.
“With the way they were playing defense, they were doing a good job of trying to protect the paint [and] pack the paint, and it was requiring us to take some jump shots and shoot the basketball,” said Thunder head coach Billy Donovan. “We were going to have to shoot the ball and make some jump shots, and we just probably didn't make enough which enabled them to get on a little bit of a run."
The lid lifted off of the rim for a brief moment for the Thunder in the second quarter. A combined four 3-pointers rattled home in the final two minutes for both teams. After only making two threes in the first quarter, the Thunder knocked down five in the second, four of which came in the final five minutes of play. Going into the half, the Thunder only trailed 47-49 behind the barrage of sudden long-range production.
The very first play of the second half, Dillon Brooks intercepted a Thunder pass for an easy dunk on the other side of the floor to add to his team’s transition point tally. This momentum fueled the Grizzlies to a 37-point quarter behind 70% shooting from the field (14-20) and 62.5% from the 3-point line (5-8). On the other end, the Thunder only sank one triple in those 12 minutes, but the crafty basketball mind of Chris Paul generated other ways of scoring. He dished out six assists in the third and was responsible for 20 of the Thunder’s 27 points either by scoring or assisting.
This didn’t stop the Grizzlies. Memphis erupted to start the fourth quarter amassing its largest lead of the night with a 20-point buffer between them and the Thunder. Even after clawing its way to only a nine-point margin, the Thunder were unable to string together multiple successful offensive possessions in the final minutes and ended its winning streak on the final game of the homestand.
Decisive Moments
The Thunder managed to scratch and claw its way back to a single digit deficit in the fourth quarter. After three come-from-behind victories during its five-game homestand, the Thunder flexed its highly exercised resilience muscle and manufactured some energy on the offensive end. After bringing the game to nine points with three minutes remaining, the Grizzlies answered immediately. A dunk from Jonas Valanciunas brought the game just out of reach and stomped out any threat of another remarkable Thunder comeback.
“We could've got it inside of nine, but we weren't able to convert,” said Donovan. “That was the game for us offensively that we didn't shoot the ball as well as maybe we had been up to this point in time."
Play of the Game
Emerging out of a timeout, the Grizzlies looked to set up their offense that they drew up in the huddle. Solomon Hill stood in triple threat with the ball on the elbow looking to hand it off to Jaren Jackson Jr. who was curling in his direction, but Nerlens Noel had other plans. The 6-foot-11 center activated his wingspan and disrupted the handoff freeing the ball in open space. With a few swift steps, Noel was ahead of the pack and in possession of the ball. Like a 6-foot-11 point guard, Noel exploded through the half court and elevated for an easy, uncontested two hand slam to tie the game at 33 in the second half.
Stat of the Night23
Fast break points. The fast-paced Grizzlies pushed the tempo in transition cumulating 23 fast break points while the Thunder snagged 6. Quick shots on the offensive end opened the door for the Grizzlies to quickly grab the rebound and start their break – an area where they thrive.
“They’re a good team getting out in transition, that’s what they hang their hat on and they did it tonight,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“When you are missing as many shots as we missed tonight, you are going to be in transition defense a lot,” said Donovan. “They tried to push the pace when we missed and they obviously defensive rebounded.”
Quotes of the Night
“We got to be better. They went on little runs, like a little 9-0 run here, 10-0 run there and that stuff adds up. And then you end up fighting back. We made a little push down the fourth but the hill was just too high tonight for us to come back.” –Chris Paul"We’re getting better defensively and offensively obviously. But we know that when we put our mind to it we can do anything out there on the floor but the offense just wasn’t going for us tonight.” –Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Looking Ahead
This final game of the Thunder’s homestand also served as the first half of a home-away back-to-back. The squad will hit the road to take on Charlotte on Friday for its first away game in 13 days.