OKC Thunder rally late to top Memphis Grizzlies 128-122

Throughout this year’s campaign, the OKC Thunder have been a tough team to square off against when it comes to being their second opponent on a back-to-back after a loss. This, of course, rang true Sunday night as Mark Daigneault’s squad took down the Memphis Grizzlies 128-122.

In stark contrast to their Saturday matinee at Madison Square Garden where they completely flatlined in the final quarter of regulation, Oklahoma City stormed back from a 10 point deficit in the fourth in their follow up outing by dropping 38, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the charge with nine of his 30 coming during this run.

The OKC Thunder stormed back late in the fourth to down the Memphis Grizzlies

Along with his impressive and efficient scoring (owned a 47/ 67/ 90 clip on the day), the All-Star snub managed to nab four rebounds and dished out five assists.

Right behind SGA in the scoring department was rookie wunderkind Aleksej Pokusevski who, in his second game since being called up from the G-League, had his best game of the season. In 39 minutes of action, Poku managed to score 23 points on 54 percent shooting from the field and 63 percent shooting from deep.

The forward also dimed four assists, swatted one shot, and secured 10 rebounds, making it the first double-double of his NBA career.

During the final quarter of play, Kenrich Williams, otherwise known as Kenny Hustle, was reminiscent of the Energizer Bunny, what with his captivating drive to get into the passing lanes, dive on the floor for loose balls, and went a perfect three for three during the period, scoring seven of his 17 total points on the game.

Overall, the OKC Thunder shot an astounding 57.5 percent from the floor & 51.6 from deep and grabbed 46 total boards while the Memphis Grizzlies shot 51.1 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from deep, and only grabbed 32 boards.

Though Ja Morant managed to log an impressive 22 points and seven assists, Jonas Valanciunas nabbed a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds and Dillon Brooks scored 19 points, ultimately the desire to win was stronger for OKC.

With this win, the team now boasts a 17-22 record, leaving them just two wins behind the seventh-seeded Spurs.