The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the brink of sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. On Thursday, the Thunder had a 114-108 victory over the Ja Morant-led team. For most of the game, the Grizzlies had the upper hand. Their lead against the top-seeded Thunder squad went as big as 29 points. However, Oklahoma City worked hard to stay in the game and take over late in the fourth quarter.
The Thunder’s biggest lead was six points, and they only took control in the game during the final period. All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his first 30-point game in the postseason. He finished the game with 31 points on a not-so-efficient 38.5 percent shooting. Aside from SGA, other players for the Thunder had significant contributions.
SGA’s co-star, Jalen Williams, had 26 points and shot 9-for-16 from the field. Williams was also alert on the defensive end with his two steals and one block. Big man Chet Holmgren had an incredible outing in the second half.
After scoring just one point in the first two quarters, Holmgren dominated the offensive end after halftime. He scored 23 points in the third and fourth quarters. Overall, he shot 50 percent from deep.
Following the win, TNT’s Dennis Scott talked to Holmgren, who expressed how he’s always looking to perform at the top of his game.
“My favorite game’s always the next game,” Holmgren said. “We came out here, it wasn’t pretty. They hit us first, but we did what we had to do, came away with the win and now we gotta get ready for Game 4.
"Everybody's voice holds the same amount of weight" 🤝
Chet Holmgren talked the @okcthunder's historic comeback with @Dennis3DScott 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/wsADU3kvkB
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 25, 2025
Even though the Thunder was down during the first three quarters, the young team didn’t get discouraged. Holmgren said the team worked hard together.
“It’s a team mentality, it’s no one person. Everybody’s voice holds the same amount of weight in the locker room and everybody’s saying something, we were all communicating. We came out and cleaned it up.”
TNT’s Ernie Johnson joked around with the oldest member of the Oklahoma City Thunder
After the win, one of the players who was interviewed by the media was veteran guard Alex Caruso. The 31-year-old guard had an impactful outing against Memphis. He came off the bench and did everything. Caruso had 10 points, six rebounds and four steals.
His defensive tenacity was one of the key elements to their victory. Following that, he was interviewed by TNT’s Ernie Johnson, who playfully referred to him as his son.
“It wasn’t me, but it was my son who had himself a heck of a game as the Oklahoma City Thunder come from 29 back and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 114-108. Son, I may have to increase your allowance,” Johnson joked.
"It wasn't me, but it was my son who had himself a heck of a game as the Oklahoma City Thunder come from 29 back and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 114-108. Son, I may have to increase your allowance…" – Ernie Johnson to Alex Caruso🏀📺🎙️😂 #NBA pic.twitter.com/8TwxqJLQ6z
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 25, 2025
Caruso explained they didn’t allow the Grizzlies’ 29-point lead to get the best of them and kept their composure.
For other sports-related content:
Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at [email protected]. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
