The Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the Memphis Grizzlies 131-80 in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series on Sunday, marking the fifth-largest margin of victory in NBA postseason history. The 51-point win was just seven points shy of the record and stands as the largest Game 1 victory in NBA playoff history.
Aaron Wiggins led the Thunder with 21 points, Jalen Williams added 20 points, and Chet Holmgren contributed 19 points and 10 rebounds. Despite being the NBA’s leading scorer this season with nearly 33 points per game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored just 15 points, but Oklahoma City still shot 50.5% from the field.
“We played to our identity,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Nothing more, nothing less than that. We were who we were all year, and that’s going to be the key to our success—staying true to who we are.”
Gilgeous-Alexander had previously emphasized the importance of preparing his teammates for the postseason after last season’s loss to Dallas in the Western Conference semifinals. The Thunder’s performance in this game reflected that commitment.
“I have a great group of guys around me, and I know that,” he said. “They obviously played amazing.”
In NBA playoff history, there have been two games with a 58-point margin: Denver’s 121-63 win over New Orleans in 2009 and the Minneapolis Lakers’ 133-75 victory against the St. Louis Hawks in 1956. The Los Angeles Lakers defeated Golden State by 56 points (126-70) in 1973, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks by 54 (120-66) in 2015.
Ja Morant led Memphis with 17 points but struggled with his shooting, finishing 6-for-17. Jaren Jackson Jr., who averaged over 22 points during the regular season, scored just four points on 2-for-13 shooting. The Grizzlies shot only 34.4% as a team.
Oklahoma City, which finished the regular season with a league-leading 68-14 record, quickly took control with a 20-0 run that gave them a 55-22 lead in the second quarter. They went into halftime with a commanding 35-point lead.
“It felt like after that, the energy wasn’t there, and we were just trying to talk ourselves into getting back into the game,” Morant said.
This was Memphis’ first playoff game under interim coach Tuomas Iisalo, who had only coached nine NBA regular-season games before the play-in tournament.
“If you’re in a playoff series, it’s a best of seven,” Iisalo said. “It doesn’t matter if you win by one point on a buzzer-beater or by 50 points, you get one win. Luckily for us, the only direction from here is up. We will analyze it, learn from it, and fix the things that hurt us.”
Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday, and Thunder coach Mark Daigneault expects a tougher contest.
“They played 36 hours ago and had an emotional game, had to turn around and play at noon today, which is a tough turnaround,” Daigneault said. “They’re going to be better on Tuesday. I thought we did a good job, but I don’t think we can expect the same performance from them again. They’re going to play a lot better.”
