Chet Holmgren scored all however one in every of his 24 factors within the second half and the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder overcame a 29-point deficit after Ja Morant left the sport with a hip harm to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 114-108 for a 3-0 collection lead.
Morant was harm with simply over three minutes left within the first half on Thursday night time with Memphis main 67-40. The Grizzlies led by 26 at half-time.
Morant was later seen on crutches within the tunnel with what was described as a left hip contusion. Grizzlies interim coach Tuomas Iisalo stated he was not sure if the two-time All Star could be out there for Saturday’s recreation.
“He’s going by additional evaluations tomorrow,” stated Iisalo. “Then we’ll know extra.”
Requested how a lot his absence affected the Grizzlies play within the second half, Iisalo replied: “I might say fairly drastically from the tip end result. However not solely the vitality, but additionally the execution.”
The 29-point comeback was the second-largest in an NBA postseason recreation since play-by-play information started being recorded within the 1996-97 season. The one one larger: A comeback from 31 factors down by the Los Angeles Clippers in opposition to Golden State in April 2019.
The highest-seeded Thunder, who gained Sport 1 131-80 within the fifth-biggest margin of victory in NBA postseason historical past, didn’t also have a lead on this one till the fourth quarter. Now, they’ll shut out the collection on Saturday.
“I simply by out of half-time, we sort of reconnected to who we’re. We had been very out of character within the first half,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault stated.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 factors for Oklahoma Metropolis and Jalen Williams added 26, splitting a pair of free throws with 1:20 left to provide the Thunder their first lead. Scotty Pippen scored 28 factors, two in need of his profession excessive, to steer Memphis. Jaren Jackson Jr added 22 factors as Memphis noticed their lead evaporate within the second half.
“They constructed a 29-point lead in a half, so we felt like all we needed to do was construct our personal 29-point lead,” Gilgeous-Alexander stated.
In Thursday’s different video games, Kawhi Leonard scored 21 factors and the Los Angeles Clippers rolled to a 117-83 victory over Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets to take a 2-1 lead of their first-round playoff collection.
In the meantime, the New York Knicks left little question about their plan for Sport 3 within the opening minutes in opposition to the Detroit Pistons. Karl-Anthony Cities took his group’s first shot, made his first of 4 three-pointers and scored 5 factors within the opening minutes to begin an 11-point quarter. Cities scored 31 factors, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two pictures to steer New York in a 118-116 victory over the Detroit Pistons to take a 2-1 lead within the first-round collection. Sport 4 is on Sunday in Detroit earlier than the collection shifts again to New York.
