Sunday afternoon was the start of a playoff run that has the potential to become the most memorable in Oklahoma City Thunder history. After wrapping up a positively dominant regular season with a 68-14 record (only the seventh team to ever reach that mark), the Thunder showed why they are the prohibitive favorites to cut down the nets come June. With the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies their opponent, Oklahoma City dominated from start to finish, cruising to a positively stunning 131-80 win.
Every time it looked like the Grizzlies had a chance to begin cutting into the lead or to make some sort of effort to stop the bleeding in the first half, the Thunder's impeccable defense immediately squashed their attempt. What was a 12-point lead at the end of one ballooned to a 32-point advantage entering the half, and OKC never let up down the stretch. When everything was all said and done, it was the largest point-differential win in a Game 1 in NBA playoff history.
A game like that one can serve to set the tone for the remainder of the playoffs. It was a stark reminder that no team should feel comfortable or even optimistic facing this Thunder squad. They are the top dogs, and they're the deepest team in the association. Aaron Wiggins was Oklahoma City's leading scorer in this one, which puts in perspective how much of a team win it truly was.
As for the probable MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? He finished with a modest 15 points on 4-for-13 shooting. It was the first time he scored under 20 since October 2024.
SGA had a below-average game as OKC cruised to massive Game 1 win
Don't be fooled — This kind of performance doesn't serve to detract from his MVP case (never mind the fact that it's a regular season award to begin with). SGA having his teammates perform well in no way weakens his case for MVP, and especially in this particular case.
Sunday afternoon's game was actually quite poetic for Gilgeous-Alexander. After a dominant regular season where he scored 20 points or more in every regular season game but one (!!), Shai got the ultimate thank you from his teammates as he got to mostly just sit back and watch them dominate.
The player who was most responsible for putting Oklahoma City in this position was able to have a very unimpressive outing by his standards while the rest of the Thunder's roster dismantled the Grizzlies. It certainly wasn't a typical night for SGA, but it was a very appropriate way to begin a run to a potential championship.
After having the luxury of playing just 23 minutes on Sunday, Gilgeous-Alexander will now be extra fresh when Game 2 tips off Tuesday night. One game does not decide a series, but the Thunder are without a question in prime position to advance to the semifinals in dominating fashion.