Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the Western Conference semifinals by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 117-115 on Saturday to complete a four-game sweep.
Jalen Williams added 23 points for the top-seeded Thunder, who led the NBA with a 68-14 record this season and became the first team to reach the second round. They will await the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets or No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers in the next round.
“I didn’t feel like my mindset was any different,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Every night I step on the floor to be the best version of myself. I hadn’t been in the past (games), but tonight I was pretty close to it. I think because I kept the same mindset, it allowed me to just play free.”
The Grizzlies played without star guard Ja Morant, who bruised his left hip in a hard fall in Game 3. The Thunder erased a 29-point deficit after he left, the second-biggest comeback in a postseason game since detailed play-by-play began being kept in 1996-97.
“Their fight tonight was impressive, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “Down 3-0, down Morant and down 11 with four (minutes) to go. Lot of respect for them competitively.”
Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Isaiah Joe had 11 points apiece for the Thunder, with Hartenstein adding 12 rebounds.
Scotty Pippen Jr. matched his career high with 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Desmond Bane and Santi Aldama had 23 points apiece.
“Scotty did a tremendous job throughout the end of the season. He was very consistent on both ends,” Grizzlies interim coach Tuomas Iisalo said.
The game was close through three quarters with neither team building a significant advantage. Oklahoma City led 88-85 entering the fourth. At that point, the Thunder were 4-of-29 from 3-point range.
Williams’ 3-pointer with 5:41 left in the game gave the Thunder a 102-92 lead, the first time either team reached a double-digit advantage. The lead would reach 11 before Memphis rallied and a 3-pointer from Bane with 7.1 seconds left cut it to 116-114.
Williams split a pair of free throws with 6 seconds left and the Thunder fouled Bane intentionally. He made the first but Memphis could not rebound his intentional miss of the second.
“We could have been a little bit tighter when we built the lead (to 11 in the fourth quarter),” Daigneault said. “I thought we got a little bit loose on defensive possessions specifically. Once it tightened up, I thought everything from execution to clock management … was all very positive.”
After six lead changes and five ties in the half, Oklahoma City led 60-59 at the break.
“We fought, everybody on this team. Like, there was zero quit in this team,” Iisalo said, adding the Grizzlies just couldn’t close out the game.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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