OKC Thunder grades: 4th quarter mini burst seals game for Grizzlies

Best OKC Thunder reserve performance:

As the lone veteran available on Wednesday Mike Muscala did what he’s done all season — step up at the moment to offer offense and help lend a leadership voice to his squad.

He was unable to make a difference during the Grizzlies’ fourth-quarter outburst but that falls on the entire unit on the floor.

He was second only to SGA in scoring with 21 on a highly efficient 7 of 11 from the field and 5 of 9 from deep. Muscala added three rebounds.

Best opponent performance:

All five Grizzly starters and one reserve scored in double-figures with Valanciunas and Grayson Allen both collecting 22 points.

Ja Morant wasn’t really the player most responsible for the big fourth-quarter run. However, like SGA, Morant is undeniably the star and leader of his team. On Wednesday he did a bit of everything on route to his first triple-double of the season. He finished with 15 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds, and one steal.

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Like SGA, Ja is also one of those players who are a joy to watch. So much of what he does appears to be effortless. At times there are glimpses of a young Westbrook as he attacks the basket with wild abandon and in others, he seems like a grizzled (no pun intended) vet with how he runs his squad.

While the Thunder made sure to restrict his ability to get to the rim he responded by making sure that meant his linemates would all succeed.

With the likes of Ja Morant and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, there are bound to be many more exciting future battles between these two clubs.

In closing:

Two key areas can be pointed to as the main difference in this match — points in the paint differential and turnovers.

The OKC Thunder shot efficiently from everywhere on the floor and got to the line. None of the key categories showed glaring weakness but the Thunder turned over the ball 18 times leading to 23 points. They also got pummeled in the paint losing the PIP battle 52 to 24.

In a match that came down to a four-minute run, those two weaknesses made the difference.

You can view the full box score here.

The Thunder are back in action on Friday as they finish the season series versus the Bucks in Milwaukee. Game time is 8:00 p.m. EST and 7:00 p.m. CT.