Playing without star guard Ja Morant (knee) Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Memphis Grizzlies still found themselves as major home favorites.
OKC was playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (concussion protocols) and entered the game having lost seven consecutive outings.
Pretty much from the get, the Memphis Grizzlies had their way with a bad Thunder squad inside FedExForum. Memphis led 31-16 after one and doubled up the Thunder by the score of 72-36 at the halftime.
In no way was that the extent of it. After outscoring Oklahoma City 41-26 in the third quarter, the Grizzlies absolutely dominated in the final stanza by the score of 39-17. The end result was a 73-point victory and a spot in the NBA record books.
By virtue of the 152-79 victory, the Grizzlies now boast the largest margin of victory in the history of the NBA. That’s not hyperbole. It happened, and we all witnessed it.
Memphis Grizzlies break NBA record with largest margin of victory ever
- Memphis Grizzlies: 152-79 win over Oklahoma City (2021)
- Cleveland Cavaliers: 148-80 win over Miami Heat (1992)
- Indiana Pacers: 124-59 win over the Portland Trail Blazers (1998)
- Los Angeles Lakers: 162-99 win over the Golden State Warriors (1972)
- Golden State Warriors: 153-91 win over Sacramento Kings (1992)
This is an absolutely insane stat right here, especially given that the aforementioned Morant was sidelined to an injury.
The game stats themselves were equally eye-opening.
Oklahoma City shot just 32% from the field and had 19 turnovers compared to 25 made baskets. Their leading scorer was Luguentz Dort with 15 points.
To put that into perspective, Memphis had nine players go for double-digit points and shot an absurd 62% from the field while turning the ball over just 10 times. Memphis also connected on 19 three-pointers, just six less than the overall number of field goals Oklahoma City made.