Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Oklahoma City made a stunning 29-point comeback after Memphis lost star guard Ja Morant to a hip injury as the Thunder beat the Grizzlies 114-108 on Thursday to reach the brink of a playoff sweep. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, Jalen Williams added 26, and Chet Holmgren scored 23 of his 24 points in the second half to spark the second-largest NBA playoff victory fightback since 1997.
“It wasn’t pretty. They hit us first. But we did what we had to do and came away with a win,” Holmgren said. “It was a team mentality. Everybody was saying something when we went into that locker room. Then we came out and we cleaned it up.”
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Oklahoma City seized a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference first round best-of-seven series with a chance to complete the sweep in game four at Memphis on Saturday. Morant suffered a bruised left hip late in the second quarter when he drove to the hoop and leapt high into the Thunder’s Luguentz Dort and fell face-first onto the court, writhing in pain for several minutes and eventually leaving the game for good.
The Grizzlies took their largest lead at 69-40 seconds after Morant’s departure with 3:15 to play in the second quarter and Memphis led 77-51 at half-time, but Oklahoma City outscored the hosts 63-31 in the second half. Memphis interim coach Tuomas Iisalo said the injury to Morant, the Grizzlies points and assist leader this season, sapped his team’s energy and ability to execute plays.
“I would say quite drastically from the result, not only the energy but the execution,” Iisalo said. “We did a great job fighting for 48 minutes but against this team, it’s not enough to fight. You also have to be able to execute.” As for Morant, he added: “He’s going through further evaluations tomorrow and then we’ll know more.”
– Great response –
The only greater NBA playoff collapse in the past 25 years came in 2019 when the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from 31 points down to defeat Golden State. “Our response, in a game that doesn’t feel attainable in certain parts of it, was great,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. The Morant injury play evoked memories of Golden State’s Jimmy Butler falling awkwardly Wednesday, with an MRI on Thursday reportedly showing a deeply bruised gluteus muscle that left him uncertain for game three against Houston on Saturday.
Other playoff results Thursday saw New York win 118-116 at Detroit and the Clippers rout visiting Denver 117-83. Scotty Pippen Jr., who led Memphis with 28 points and a career-best six three-pointers, sparked the Grizzlies early, a 25-5 span seeing the Thunder shoot a woeful 2-of-15. Momentum turned with the injury to Morant, who had 15 points and five rebounds. Oklahoma City, which had not rallied from more than 22 points to win this season, shot 15-of-18 from the floor to start the third quarter to pull within 95-87 entering the fourth.
Oklahoma City’s first lead came when Williams sank a free throw with 80 seconds remaining for a 109-108 edge. Holmgren added two more free throws with 57 seconds to play and Alex Caruso scored on a fast break layup for a 113-108 edge as Memphis didn’t score in the game’s last 4:51.
Also in the West, the Clippers took a 2-1 series edge over Denver as Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points while James Harden and Norman Powell each had 20 for LA, which surged ahead 65-47 at halftime and pulled away. Serbian center Nikola Jokic had his 20th career playoff triple double with 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists for the Nuggets, who also had 23 points from Jamal Murray in their largest loss of the campaign.
– Knicks edge Pistons –
At Detroit, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns scored 31 points and Jalen Brunson added 30 to spark the Knicks for a 2-1 series lead. O.G. Anunoby added 22 points and Mikal Bridges contributed 20 to seize the edge with game four set for Sunday in Detroit. The loss extended a stinging futility run for the Pistons, who have not won a playoff series in 17 years and have not won a home playoff game since May 2008.
© 2024 AFP
