Thunder make history with comeback win over Grizzlies
OKLAHOMA CITY — It was all a blur, and all too familiar.
Two nights after erasing a 26-point deficit to beat the Chicago Bulls, the Oklahoma City Thunder fell behind by 24 points against the Memphis Grizzlies only to furiously fight back to a 126-122 victory Wednesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The 26-point comeback was historic, tying the largest come-from-behind win in Thunder history. But nearly the same situation 48 hours later?
"I think it’s a great quality that shows these guys’ competitiveness and how much they want to win," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "Now, the other part of it is, it’s not sustainable. ... We can’t become the team we want to become playing 24 minutes."
A third-quarter sequence that happened in a flash sparked the comeback.
Abdel Nader swished a contested 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left. It cut Memphis’ lead to nine points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stole the ensuing inbound pass and banked in a 20-foot floater as time expired. Chris Paul leapt in celebration, and Darius Bazley rushed onto the court and slapped Gilgeous-Alexander on the back.
"Most the players in the NBA don’t shoot that because they don’t want to mess up their stats," Dennis Schroder said of the buzzer-beater. "Credit to him. He made it, and it was a big play for us."
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The Thunder scored seven points in the final 35.7 seconds of the third quarter. The Grizzlies led by 14 points with 50 seconds left in the frame. But by the time the teams retreated to their benches for the quarter break, Memphis’ lead was cut in half.
Schroder led OKC with 31 points off the bench. He turned the ball over with 29 seconds left, but Memphis couldn’t capitalize on the mistake. Schroder redeemed himself by going 4-of-4 from the foul line in the final 15 seconds to seal the win.
"Certainly the bench was a major factor of putting ourselves back into the game," Donovan said.
Led by Schroder, the Thunder bench scored 52 points.
Memphis rookies Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke, alongside budding sophomore Jaren Jackson Jr., showed why the Grizzlies are so excited about their young core. Clarke scored a career-high 27 points. Morant added 22 points. Together they combined to make 63% of their shots.
The Thunder trapped Morant during the closing minutes, forcing the ball out of his hands.
Less than a year and a half ago, Morant was one of 20 players invited to the CP3 Elite Guard Camp in Chris Paul’s hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Wednesday night, Morant chased Paul around screens and drained a 3-pointer over the player he’s long looked up to.
Morant was 6-of-8 at halftime, but the Thunder limited him to 3-of-8 shooting in the second half.
"I give our guys a lot of credit for hanging in there," Donovan said. "The first half was a struggle, defensively more than offensively."
Oklahoma City surrendered 122 points — the most it’s allowed in a regulation win.
The Thunder became the first team in the last 20 seasons to overcome a 24-point deficit in back-to-back games, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
