Thunder Catches Fire from Downtown, Cruises to Win Over Grizzlies
The Thunder caught fire from long distance on Sunday night against the Grizzlies, using a team-record 12 first half three-pointers to build a 74-54 halftime lead. Despite OKC being without Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony for the second-consecutive game, Memphis was never able to recover, as the Thunder cruised to a 110-92 victory.
Paul George led the way with 33 points and 8 assists, Alex Abrines added 16 points of his own, and the Thunder finished 16/37 (43.2 percent) from downtown. Five OKC players reached double-figures in scoring, while the Grizzlies struggled from the field all night — finishing with a 39.5 percent shooting percentage.
Full Highlights:
The win pushes the Thunder’s record to 32-25 with two games remaining before the All-Star break. Back in action on Tuesday night against LeBron James and the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers.
Numbers
| TEAM | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OKC | 35 | 39 | 21 | 15 | 110 |
| MEM | 18 | 36 | 26 | 12 | 92 |
16-6: The Thunder got 16 three-pointers to fall, compared to just six for Memphis.
65: OKC had no trouble getting to the free throw line, but again struggled. The Thunder went 26/40 from the stripe, good for just 65 percent.
-9: The Grizzlies out-rebounded OKC 47-38, including 12-9 on the offensive glass. Memphis was able to use this to take a 21-2 advantage in second-chance points, the largest blemish on the Thunder’s night.
10 & 17: The Thunder turned the ball over 10 times, with Memphis coughing it up 17 times.
Three-Point Shooting
Oklahoma City came out blistering hot from long range, hitting 12/17 (70.7 percent) from downtown in the first half. The Thunder looked so automatic from deep that the Grizzlies’ official Twitter account had to ask:
do y'all ever miss from 3? Asking for a friend, @okcthunder
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) February 12, 2018
Although the Thunder cooled off tremendously in the second half, OKC still finished with 16 makes from long range. After hitting just 8/34 (23.5 percent) of three-point attempts in Thursday’s loss to the Lakers, this night of precision marksmanship was nice to see. Seven different Thunder players hit at least one shot from distance.
Paul George
Without Westbrook and Melo, it was Paul George who did the heavy lifting against Memphis. He scored 16 points in the first quarter, setting the tone in what would quickly become an offensive landslide for the Thunder.
His final stat line:
George: 33 pts, 8 ast, 3 stl, 10/24 FG, 5/10 3P, +10
George is now averaging 30.6 PPG in February and just enjoyed his third straight game with at least five makes from long distance. His highlights:
Abrines, Patterson & Grant
George received a lot of help in the win, with Alex Abrines, Patrick Patterson, and Jerami Grant all playing very well. The trio combined to shoot 14/26 (53.8 percent) from the field.
Their stat lines:
Abrines: 16 pts, 6 reb, 6/13 FG, 4/7 3P, +7
Abrines got the start at shooting guard and responded with 16 points and four makes from long range. He’s now averaging 18 PPG against Memphis this season.
Patterson: 14 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 4/6 FG, 2/4 3P, +5
Patterson scored a season-high 14 points in his 35 minutes of action. He went 0/6 from the floor against the Lakers on Thursday, so this was a very nice performance for 2Pat. As always, he did a lot of little things very well.
Grant: 14 pts, 5 reb, 4/7 FG, 5/10 FT, +20
Jerami Grant was very solid, wrapping up his night as a +20 in 25 minutes of action. He drew a lot of fouls, shot well from the field, and even got a three-pointer to fall.
Highlights
Paul George feeds Steven Adams for a monster first half dunk:
Jerami Grant gets an acrobatic bucket for the and-one:
Notes
Steven Adams & Ray Felton. Steven Adams had 9 points and 9 rebounds for the Thunder. Raymond Felton put up 14 points and 8 assists, but shot just 3/12 from the field.
Starting Five. With Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony out again, Billy Donovan used a starting lineup of Ray Felton, Alex Abrines, Paul George, Patrick Patterson, and Steven Adams. The group was a +1 in 10 minutes of play together.
We Want Paul. Like the crowd in Los Angeles last week, the fans at Chesapeake Energy Arena made multiple efforts to start a “We Want Paul!” chant. He said after the game that he “loved every second of it.”
The Other Guys. Four Grizzlies reached double-figures in scoring: Marc Gasol (18), JaMychal Green (14), Tyreke Evans (12), and Ben McLemore (11).