Thunder Grabs Win Before All-Star Break, Tops Grizzlies 121-114
It wasn’t pretty but the Thunder picked up a win in the final game before the All-Star break. It took 70 combined points from Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony, plus a franchise-record 17 three-pointers, but Oklahoma City escaped Memphis with a 121-114 victory over the Grizzlies.
George led the way with 28 points on 6/9 shooting from downtown, Russell Westbrook notched his 17th triple-double of the season, and six Thunder players scored in double-figures. OKC used a 39-point second quarter to take a 73-53 lead into the halftime break — then held on for dear life as the Grizzlies shot 53 percent in the second half to make the game much closer than it should have been.
Full Highlights:
The victory moves the Thunder to 33-26 on the season and the team will now break until next Thursday when it returns to action in Sacramento. Now for some notes on tonight’s win in Memphis.
Numbers
| TEAM | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OKC | 34 | 39 | 19 | 29 | 121 |
| MEM | 33 | 20 | 31 | 30 | 114 |
49.4: The Thunder shot 49.4 percent in the game but watched as Memphis hit 51.2 percent of their attempts.
17: OKC hit 17 threes on a 17/37 clip. The 17 makes is a new team-record, with five different players making two or more from deep.
68.6: Another rough night from the charity stripe. OKC hit 24/36 — good for 68.6 percent.
-3: The Grizzlies won 41-38 on the glass.
26: The Thunder had 26 assists on the evening.
9: OKC took care of the basketball, turning it over just nine times.
40-34: The Thunder bench outscored the Memphis reserves 40-34.
14 & 7: There were 14 lead changes and seven ties.
PG13 & Russ
Paul George and Russell Westbrook paced the Thunder effort, combining to score 51 points. Their final lines and individual highlights:
George: 28 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 10/15 FG, 6/9 3P, +8
Westbrook: 23 pts, 13 reb, 15 ast, 6/14 FG, 11/12 FT, +14
Highlights
Russell Westbrook bullies Andrew Harrison en route to a ferocious jam:
Notes
Carmelo & Steve. Carmelo Anthony scored 19 points on 7/18 shooting, including 4/10 from downtown. Steven Adams chipped in 11 points and 4 rebounds but was a +14 on the night.
2Pat & Ray. The Thunder bench enjoyed a bounce-back effort after getting trounced by the Cavs reserves last night. Patrick Patterson went 3/4 from downtown and scored 12 points in 21 minutes. Raymond Felton added 12 points and 4 assists.
Alex Abrines. Abrines started but logged just 12 minutes before leaving with a hip contusion. He will look to get healthy over the All-Star break.
The Other Guys. Andrew Harrison led the Grizzlies with 28 points on a night he went head-to-head with Westbrook — going 5/5 from deep. Tyreke Evans added 23 points, Jarell Martin had 17, Dillon Brooks had 14, with Marc Gasol adding 10 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds. The Grizzlies had no troubles scoring on the Thunder defense.
