After showing they can win either ahead of the pack or well off the pace, the Oklahoma City will be out to sweep their first-round Western Conference playoff series on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies when Game 4 takes place Saturday.
With Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant not available in the second half of Game 3 due to injury, the Thunder roared back to place themselves one victory away from the second round.
Oklahoma City rallied from a 29-point first-half deficit to seize a 114-108 road victory Thursday and a 3-0 series advantage. The Thunder didn’t lead Game 3 until 1:20 to go when Jalen Williams sank a free throw.
As Oklahoma City appears poised to complete the sweep, Memphis likely will be without Morant, who came away with a hip contusion injury in the closing minutes of the first half Thursday. He hobbled off the court following a hard fall to the floor and did not return.
The Thunder outscored Memphis 63-31 in the second half and completed the largest comeback of the franchise’s Oklahoma City era. Memphis did not score in the final 4:51 of the game and managed only 13 points in the final quarter.
“I don’t really know how to process that,” Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama said. “It’s going to take a lot of time.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a leading candidate for NBA Most Valuable Player honors, led Oklahoma City with 31 points. Williams scored 26 and Chet Holmgren provided the biggest spark. Holmgren scored 23 of his 24 points in the second half, including five 3-pointers.
Playing at home after being overwhelmed by 51 points in Game 1 and 19 points in Game 2, the Grizzlies were a different team from the outset of Game 3. They built a double-digit lead in the opening quarter behind Scotty Pippen Jr., who finished with 28 points.
In the second quarter, the Memphis advantage soared to 28 points shortly before Morant was undercut by Lu Dort on a fastbreak dunk attempt.
In the second half, the Thunder began their comeback on the strength of Holmgren’s accuracy beyond the arc. He made four of his five 3-pointers in the third quarter, when Oklahoma City outscored Memphis 36-18. The Thunder’s emphatic finishing kick included scoring the game’s final nine points.
Despite the huge first-half deficit, the Thunder never lost faith.
“In the moment, it (stinks),” Williams said. “It’s not something you want to make a habit of, but we also have extreme confidence in how we can play to turn the tide. We were able to do that.”
The only larger comeback in NBA playoff history was the Los Angeles Clippers’ victory over the Golden State Warriors in a 2019 first-round game after falling behind by 31. Gilgeous-Alexander was a rookie guard for the Clippers that season.
“I completely forgot about that so it didn’t cross my mind, but that is crazy,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “If they could build it, we could erase it. That’s how we see it. That’s what we did.”
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said the team recovered by “reconnecting in the second half.”
Holmgren said it was a matter of trust and “being who we’ve been all year” during a 68-win regular-season.
“What we’ve worked on all year is our best option to go to,” Holmgren said. “That’s playing together and trusting that the next man is going to make the right play whether it’s on offense or defense. When you make that extra pass, you trust that person is going to make the shot, make the right read on the drive, make the extra pass themselves.”
