Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a lot to address when responding to questions about the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s miraculous comeback win in Game 3. While discussing the team’s tenacity in approaching the deficit at halftime, the Thunder guard said:
“We just knew that the only way we were going to give ourselves a chance was by sticking together, getting stops, playing fast, and just plugging away at it [the lead] possession by possession.”
“We know how they built a 29-point lead at the half. So we knew all we had to do was build our own 29-point lead. If they can build it, we can erase it. That’s how we see it, and that’s what we did, we started plugging away at it.”
OKC faced some insurmountable odds heading into the second half of Game 3 against the Memphis Grizzlies. With the scores at 51-77 in the Grizzlies’ favor, the Thunder faced a challenging road ahead if they were to take control of the series on the road.
As the Thunder guard mentioned in his comments, OKC started chipping away at the lead one basket at a time. The Thunder saw Chet Holmgren contribute 24 points to the winning effort. Paired with another 26 points by Jalen Williams and another 26 points in total from their bench, OKC managed to mount a successful comeback.
The Thunder star was a key element in their success, as he put up an MVP-worthy performance with 31 points, four rebounds, and eight assists for the game. The league’s scoring champion put his offensive skills on full display as he systematically dismantled Memphis’ defensive schemes.
While their offensive output was a huge factor in securing the win, the Thunder also managed to do a tremendous job on the defensive end. By choking the Grizzlies’ offense behind some stern defensive work by Luguentz Dort and Alex Caruso, OKC restrained Memphis to only 31 points in the second half.
However, the Grizzlies’ offensive breakdown could also be attributed to the absence of Ja Morant. Morant sustained a rather concerning injury after colliding with Dort late in the second quarter. With a situation reminiscent of Amen Thompson’s dive into Jimmy Butler on Wednesday night, the Grizzlies guard saw himself walk out of the game with a similar hip injury, leaving his future questionable.
Losing Morant spelled catastrophe for Memphis. The star guard had racked up 15 points on 6-11 shooting from the field in only 16 minutes of playing time. Without a key offensive weapon, the Grizzlies had to turn to backup guard Scotty Pippen Jr.
Although Pippen Jr. had himself an impressive performance of 28 points, five rebounds, and five assists, the Grizzlies were simply outgunned in Game 3.
The Thunder walked away with a 114-108 win and extended their series lead to 3-0. With the call for a sweep on the cards, OKC will look to bring the brooms to close things out on Saturday at 3:30 pm ET.
