The Oklahoma City Thunder will look to pad their lead in the Western Conference when they play host to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.
The Thunder returned home from a 2-2 road trip and earned a 107-100 victory over the Miami Heat on Friday as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points with six assists, Jalen Williams scored 15 points and Josh Giddey had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Standout rookie Chet Holmgren scored just seven points with three rebounds in 29 minutes Friday while up against Miami’s Bam Adebayo, going 3 of 9 from the floor and 1 of 4 from 3-point range. It was his lowest scoring game since Jan. 29 and his lowest rebounding output since Jan. 3.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 of his points in the second half and has 37 or more points in a game 11 times this season, including the past two games, both victories. His 47 games of at least 30 points in a season have tied a franchise record set twice by Kevin Durant.
“My whole life is consistent,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on the Bally Sports Oklahoma broadcast. “Everything I do. From what I eat, to when I sleep, to my recovery, to my loved ones. Everything’s consistent. It’s a routine for me at this point.”
Oklahoma City will take an eight-game home winning streak into the matchup with Memphis, the longest current home run in the NBA, with head coach Mark Daigneault giving an outline of what he is looking for as the playoffs approach.
“Continuing to see our team as a work in progress and not allowing the relative success we’ve had at this point to harden the way we see our team, but continue to see the team as kinda a living organism that can continue to improve and develop,” Daigneault said.
The Grizzlies are not operating with such a lofty mantra during an injury-riddled season. They have lost nearly twice as many games as they have won and just saw a two-game winning streak end with a 99-92 loss at home to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
It was Memphis’ second 92-point game over the last five contests and the fourth time they scored 95 points or fewer over their last eight games.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 21 points with nine rebounds against the Hawks, who played without Trae Young, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu.
Lamar Stevens scored 13 points for the Grizzlies and has averaged 11.5 points in 11 games (20.9 minutes per contest) since arriving in a trade from the Boston Celtics.
“He’s been constant when it comes to his energy,” Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins said of Stevens. “He’s given us a spark offensively. He’s still trying to find his groove and learn his game on the offensive side. But the defensive urgency … he doesn’t back down on the defensive side.”
The Grizzlies signed Wenyen Gabriel to a 10-day contract on Friday afternoon and then used him for 13 minutes that night. He contributed two points and four rebounds. On Saturday, they signed DeJon Jarreau to a 10-day contract.
–Field Level Media
