Shai Gilgeous-Alexander whipped the ball behind his head to Lu Dort, who was standing alone at the top of the arc. Dort canned the 3-pointer.
It was then that Adam Silver should have intervened. Such ridiculousness shouldn’t fly in an NBA playoff game. The referees should’ve waved the game off. The league should’ve called the series then and there. The Grizzlies were down without a whimper, and the Thunder kept throwing haymakers.
The good news for Memphis? It improved by 32 points from Games 1 to 2. The bad news for Memphis? The Grizzlies still lost Game 2 by 19 points, 118-99.
We’ve now seen two blowouts. Do we really need to watch two more of these?
“Don’t get it backwards,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “We were ready for them to play really well tonight. We knew that wasn’t who they were Sunday. There was a fatigue element to that … Down 2-0, they’re going back home in front of their home crowd where they play well. The last time they played there they played excellent, so we’ve gotta be ready for a similar type of punch in Game 3.”
Anything short of a sweep would be surprising. Forget figuring out Memphis’ path to win the series. What can the Grizzlies do to win a game?
Game 2 wasn’t nearly as ugly as Game 1, but they mirrored each other in some ways.
The Thunder blitzed the Grizzlies from the opening tip and built a huge first-quarter lead. Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t efficient —he’s shooting 33% for the series —but it hasn’t mattered. Ja Morant was a mess for most of the game. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren outplayed Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. The Thunder’s depth shined and the Grizzlies’ lack of it was glaring.
Think the Grizzlies could use Kenrich Williams? He can’t get on the floor for the Thunder. Aaron Wiggins, the Thunder’s leading scorer in Game 1, scored eight points in seven minutes in Game 2. Wiggins was the Thunder’s ninth man Tuesday. He’d be the sixth man for Memphis.
The Grizzlies showed fight in the second half, outscoring the Thunder by seven points in the third quarter. It’s the one quarter Memphis has won through the first two games.
“We understood that they were gonna come out aggressive, playing free,” Holmgren said. “We had to match that, counter that. We didn’t come out lacking any intensity.”
Really, though, the game was won in the first quarter. OKC outscored Memphis 32-17. The Thunder played like the more desperate team, which goes against human nature. You’d figure the team that lost Game 1 by 51 points would show some urgency.
“Coach does a lot of philosophical teaching to us throughout the season,” Holmgren said. “Whether we won or lost by however many points you pick, it’s gonna be the same mindset coming in.”
Memphis will have to endure two more beatdowns before this series comes to a merciful end.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him atjmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
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