World

Winning the NBA record gap: Grizzlies struggled Thunder 152-79

MEMPHIS, Tenn. –

The match was decided long ago and the Memphis starters were relegated to cheerleaders on the bench when John Konchar had a steal and headed the basket.

His right-handed trick gave the Grizzlies a 145-67 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder with 3:02 left and a new franchise record for points in a game.

That 78-point advantage was Memphis’ biggest advantage on Thursday night, but at the end of the day the Grizzlies still had a 73-point lead. Their 152-79 win over the Thunder broke the NBA record for the largest winning streak.

“At the time, I didn’t know it was a franchise record,” Konchar said. “I just saw the lane, and I ignored it. But it was great.”

The 73-point difference easily surpasses the previous milestone, which is Cleveland’s 68-point victory over Miami. The Cavaliers topped Heat 148-80 on December 17, 1991.

“It’s not who we are tonight,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I think we’ve definitely shown that from a competitive standpoint. This is not indicative of who our team is.”

Memphis employs 12 players and nine of them double the number of points, with 27 points from Jaren Jackson Jr. lead for the Grizzlies. Memphis is without his best player, keeper Ja Morant is injured.

The score was 72-36 at halftime and the Grizzlies continued to take the lead.

“I think there was some lapse in defense and I think before you know it, the teams are in a whirlwind and the game isn’t going the way they should,” said Oklahoma City’s Mike Muscala. “Obviously we’re not fighting. You’d rather go out and fight. You’d rather go out and put your best foot forward and play together.”

The Thunder were knocked out of last season’s record, trailing Indiana by 67 points on May 1 before regrouping – for example – to lose by just 57 points, 152-95.

This is even worse. Historically worse.

The Grizzlies set a franchise record for shooting, doing 62.5% of their shots. De’Anthony Melton scored 19 points, Santi Aldama scored 18 and John Konchar scored 17 for the Grizzlies, and none of those three players even started.

“God, it feels great. It feels great to be in the history books, especially in front of a home audience,” Melton said. “And we did it from one to 15. Everyone contributed, everyone played hard, and we all got into the game. So it’s always a stroke of luck.

“We know with (Morant) going down what we have to do,” Melton said. “We had to step up.”

No Memphis player has played more than 21 minutes. Lu Dort led the Thunder with 15 points, and Oklahoma City just dropped 33%.

It’s 12-8 in five minutes. Since then, Memphis has been relentless. The Grizzlies beat the Thunder by 15 points per round.

“The franchise record is obviously great. Obviously proud of our guys that they don’t think about it,” said Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins. “We’re only driven by our standards every night. Tonight was pretty full in both attack and defence.”

This was the third game in a row the Grizzlies led from start to finish.

“Obviously, it’s a combination of things,” Daigneault said. “They played with great force and speed. They took some shots. We didn’t shoot well early on and just couldn’t really catch the game. Any part of the game.”

The Thunder lost their eighth game in a row as they went on without many players, including top scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who joined concussion protocol earlier on Thursday. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 points against the Rockets on Wednesday night but suffered a blow to the head late in the game.

Keeper Josh Giddey, who is averaging 10.4 points and 5.5 assists, is sidelined due to a non-COVID-19 illness, and the rest of the players are unable to fill the void in the offense. Oklahoma City’s crime.

The Thunder had competed in seven consecutive losses before Thursday night. Their biggest defeat is 13 points.

Daigneault says: “When you compete, you are exposed to high and low levels of competition. “And competition comes with great joy, and it also comes with grief and frustration and anger. And when you go into that ring, that’s how you reveal yourself and all that. That’s why joy feels so great, because when you’re punched and you taste your own blood, it just doesn’t feel right.”

CAT

Thunder: Ty Jerome started his first season in place of Gilgeous-Alexander and finished with 12 points. … Darius Bazley is the only Oklahoma City player to start all 22 games. … Oklahoma City’s 36 points in the first half is the lowest number in half a season.

Grizzlies: No substitutes Kyle Anderson (back pain) and Ziaire Williams (left knee pain). … Memphis is 3-0 since Morant sprained his right knee against Atlanta last Friday. … 36 points behind the Thunder one opponent in the first half of the season. … Memphis’ previous greatest winning margin was 49 points in a 133-84 win over Houston on February 28, 2021. … 152 points was Memphis’ most in a game. Its previous score was 144 games against Golden State on January 3, 2007.

NEXT

Thunder: In Detroit on Monday.

Grizzlies: In Dallas on Saturday.

Source link

news7h

News7h: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button