Lasted. Very hard. Historical. The game had long been decided and the Grizzlies starters were mere cheerleaders on the substitute bench as John Konchar stole the ball and headed for the basket. His right-handed dunk gave Memphis a 145-67 lead over Oklahoma City with 3:02 remaining, and a new franchise points record.
Those 78 units were the Grizzlies’ biggest advantage in Thursday’s clash, but when the final buzzer sounded, they still had a comfortable income of 73 units. Their 152-79 win over the Thunder shattered the NBA record for the largest margin of victory. The 73-point margin easily surpassed the previous mark of 68 held by the Cleveland Cavaliers since their 148-80 victory over the Miami Heat on December 17, 1991.
El Tortu did what he could
“Tonight is not necessarily who we are,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I think we have definitely shown it from a competitive point of view. This is not an indication of who in our team,” Santiago coach Gabriel Deck said. In this context, the Argentine played 21’59 ”and converted four points (2-4 in doubles, 0-1 in triples), two defensive rebounds, two assists, a loose ball and two fouls.
Memphis used 12 players and nine of them finished in double digits, led by Jaren Jackson Jr. and his 27 tallies. The Grizzlies didn’t field their best player, the injured Ja Morant.
The game went 72-36 at halftime and the Grizzlies continued to extend the lead. The Thunder came close to being on the wrong side of that mark last season, trailing 67 points to Indiana on May 1 before coming back, so to speak, and losing by just 57 points, 152-95. This was worse. Historically worse.
Santi Aldama and the tray that left Deck gasping for air.
The Grizzlies set a franchise record by making 62.5% of their shots. De’Anthony Melton scored 19 points, Santi Aldama added 18 and John Konchar added 17 for the Grizzlies, and neither of them came out in the starting five. No Memphis starters played more than 21 minutes. Lu Dort led the Thunder with 15 points and Oklahoma City made just 33% of their shots.
Positions
EAST CONFERENCE:
1.- Brooklyn Nets (15-6).
2.- Chicago Bulls (15-8)
3.- Washington Wizards (14-8)
4.- Milwaukee Bucks (14-9).
5.- Miami Heat (13-9).
6.- Cleveland Cavaliers (12-10).
7.- Atlanta Hawks (12-10).
8.- Boston Celtics (12-10).
9.- Charlotte Hornets (13-11).
10.- New York Knicks (11-11).
11.- Philadelphia 76ers (11-11).
12.- Toronto Raptors (10-13).
13.- Indiana Pacers (9-15).
14.- Orlando Magic (5-18).
15.- Detroit Pistons (4-18).
WEST CONFERENCE:
1.- Phoenix Suns (19-3).
2.- Golden State Warriors (18-3).
3.- Utah Jazz (14-7).
4.- Dallas Mavericks (11-9).
5.- Memphis Grizzlies (12-10).
6.- Los Angeles Lakers (12-11).
7.- Los Angeles Clippers (11-11).
8.- Minnesota Timberwolves (11-11).
9.- Portland Trail Blazers (11-12).
10.- Denver Nuggets (10-11).
11.- Sacramento Kings (9-14).
12.- San Antonio Spurs (7-13).
13.- Oklahoma City Thunder (6-16).
14.- New Orleans Pelicans (6-18).
15.- Houston Rockets (5-16).
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Poor Deck: He had the biggest loss in NBA history