OKLAHOMA CITY — With each turnover, transition score and offensive rebound, the Oklahoma City Thunder seemed to snatch any hope the Memphis Grizzlies had of turning the tide in Game 2 on April 22.
The margin of error is small against the No.1 team in the NBA, and Memphis is making too many mistakes to win.
Turnovers hurt Memphis again in a 118-99 loss against the Thunder at Paycom Center. OKC now leads the best-of-seven series 2-0. Memphis will get its next opportunity against the Thunder on April 24 (8:30 p.m., TNT, FanDuel Sports Network).
The next game is a must-win, but the ways of getting that result are slim. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points, but he shot 10-for-29 from the field. He’s now had two consecutives games of below average performances for his standards.
Grizzlies interim coach Tuomas Iisalo didn’t have a long breakdown or meeting with the team after the Game 2 loss. For him, the message was short and simple.
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“They took care of their business; now it’s time for us to take care of our business at home,” Iisalo said.
Home sweet home
Memphis was outscored by 70 points in two road games to open the series. The Grizzlies went 26-15 at home with a 7.3 net rating this season. On the road, that net rating number dropped to 2.1 while finishing with a 22-19 record
The Grizzlies loss by an average of 15 points in two regular season games against OKC. That number jumped to 22.5 in two road games.
The FedExForum crowd in the play-in game against the Dallas Mavericks was electric, and Grizzlies players are hoping to feed off that against OKC.
“Just defend home court,” Scotty Pippen Jr. said. “At the end of the day, we still got to have some pride in that.”
Turnovers remain an issue
The good news for Memphis is that it decreased its turnover number by nine. The bad news was OKC took advantage in the same manner.
OKC finished the game with a 25-6 advantage in points off turnovers. Considering how much Memphis is emphasizing taking care of the ball, that issue almost feels like one that isn’t correctable. Turnovers have plagued Memphis in matchups with OKC all season.
“It’s not only the turnovers; it’s the overall possessions game that we are losing,” Iisalo said. “We have had issues offensive rebounding in this series, and they have almost a 30% offensive rebounding rate. This is causing way too much pressure on our shot quality.”
Found the formula?
Memphis trailed 32-17 after the first quarter of Game 2. If you take that quarter away, the Thunder outscored the Grizzlies 86-82 for the remainder of the game.
The third quarter specifically was the best period Memphis has had in the series. An ultra-aggressive Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 13 of his team-high 26 points, and Memphis outscored OKC 27-20.
In the second quarter, Memphis was outscored, but it put up 35 points.
Iisalo believes that his star players have now figured out ways to score against Oklahoma City, and he’s hoping that opens up chances for the others. When those chances come, Pippen feels like the key for Memphis is not hesitating.
“They’re such a good defensive team,” Pippen said. “When we try to pass and move it around too much, it leads to them recovering and us taking tougher shots. It’s just taking those first shots that we get and being confident in knocking those shots down.”
Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at [email protected]. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.
