Oklahoma City Thunder smash NBA record to leave Memphis Grizzlies stunned in playoff showdown

The Oklahoma City Thunder recorded the biggest Game 1 win in NBA playoff history with a stunning 131-80 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

The Thunder drew first blood in the Western Conference playoff series in dramatic fashion. Only four NBA postseason games in history have been more one-sided.

Oklahoma City finished the regular season with a 68-14 record – the best in the league – and looked every bit the overall No 1 seed. 

There have been two 58-point playoff margins in NBA history: Denver beat New Orleans 121-63 on April 27, 2009, and the Minneapolis Lakers beat the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 on March 19, 1956.

The Los Angeles Lakers beat Golden State by 56 (126-70) on April 21, 1973, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks by 54 (120-66) on April 30, 2015.

The Thunder have now written their own slice of history, with the game well in hand by early in the second quarter.

Jalen Williams scored 20 points and Chet Holmgren had 19 points and 10 rebounds as Thunder destroyed the Grizzlies.

Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league’s scoring champion with nearly 33 points per game, scored just 15. The Thunder still shot 50.5 percent from the field.

Ja Morant scored 17 points for Memphis on just 6-for-17 shooting, while Jaren Jackson Jr. – who averaged just over 22 points in the regular season – scored four points on 2-for-13 shooting. Marvin Bagley III also scored 17, but the Grizzlies shot just 34.4 percent overall.

This was Memphis’ first playoff game under interim coach Tuomas Iisalo. He coached just nine NBA regular-season games before the play-in games.

Game 2 is Tuesday.