The Oklahoma City Thunder won their first-round series 114-108, beating the Memphis Grizzlies, to take a 3-0 lead. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 31 points and Jalen Williams with 26.
On Thursday night, the Thunder overcame a 29-point deficit in the first half by scoring 23 of his 24 points. With just one more 20 minutes left, Oklahoma City held the lead until Williams made a free throw to give Oklahoma City a 109-108 lead.
With 57.4 seconds left, Holmgren added two free throws, and Alex Caruso added a breakaway layup with 19.4 seconds left. In the final 4:51, the Grizzlies did not score.
Coach of Oklahoma City Mark Daigneault said, “We kind of reconnected to who we are (in the second half).
“We had a very strange first half, and a lot of that came from how well Memphis played and how they landed the first punch and several more punches.” So they deserve praise. However, I thought our response was fantastic in a game that didn’t feel like it was.
Ja Morant, who had a hip injury late in the first half, was not with Memphis during the second half. The Grizzlies led by Scotty Pippen Jr. with 28 points. Jameson Jr. added 22.
Prior to the injury, Morant had 15 points and five assists. A left hip contusion was identified for him. The Grizzlies won the second half 63-31 with Morant.
With 3:14 left in the second quarter, Morant soaring in for a layup after falling heavily on his left while fastbreaking and scoring a layup with. Luguentz Dort cut off Morant’s performance in the play. After a few minutes on the floor while being trained by the Grizzlies, he slowly hobbled to the sidelines.
Before being transported to the locker room, Morant returned to the court to take two missed free throws.
After the game, Memphis interim coach Tuomas Iisalo stated that Morant would be evaluated on Friday, “and then we’ll know more.”
Memphis, which had suffered lopsided losses in Oklahoma City’s opening two games, had lost by 51 points in Game 1 and 19 in Game 2, but still had vigor in their home playoff opener.
The Thunder defeated the Grizzlies 36-18 in the third quarter after going 26-26 at halftime. Oklahoma City cut its lead to 10 points midway through the period, largely in the backseat of Holmgren. The 7-foot-1 forward opened the quarter with a 25-9 run that scored 16 points. The Thunder’s lead reached 95-87 as a result of Williams’ 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter.
Daigneault said, “I give Chet a lot of credit because he scored one point at halftime.” He “had a very quiet, subdued first half.” The mental fortitude to maintain it was also very impressive. And he also did a good job of keeping things defensive.
In the first quarter, the Grizzlies jumped to a double-digit lead. Pippen, who had four of the team’s eight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, was the catalyst. Late in the second half, the Grizzlies had a 12-point lead on three occasions.
Following a 25-5 run that included 16 consecutive points, the Grizzlies increased their lead to 28 points (65-37) midway through the second quarter. Pippen added seven points in the run, while Morant added nine. With 3:07 left, Desmond Bane layup, giving the lead to 29 points, 69-40.
You have to be able to execute, Iisalo said, “We did a great job fighting for 48 minutes, but against this team it’s not enough to fight.”
Memphis had a halftime lead of 77-51 on a 57.4% shooting percentage and a combined three turnovers. In Game 1, the Grizzlies only managed 80 points.
Clippers and Knicks win Game 3 of the series.
Los Angeles jumped out to a 2-1 series lead thanks to a convincing victory over Denver at Inglewood, California, with the help of Kawhi Leonard, who recorded 21 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.
Norman Powell added 20 points for the fifth-seeded Clippers, all while James Harden added nine assists and six rebounds. Los Angeles won its second straight game in the best-of-seven first-round series with 19 points and nine rebounds.
For his 20th postseason triple-double, Denver star Nikola Jokic recorded 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists. The fourth-seeded Nuggets also had 22 points and seven rebounds led by Jamal Murray, who also had 23 points.
In Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series, New York defeated Detroit thanks to Karl-Anthony Towns scoring 31 points and Jalen Brunson adding 30, including 12.
The Knicks, who currently lead the best-of-seven series 2-1, host the Knicks on Sunday in Detroit, scored 22 points. In Game 3, Brunson added nine assists and seven rebounds, while his first two games averaged 35.5%.
