Thunder Erase 26-Point Halftime Hole to Beat Grizzlies and Take 3-0 Series Lead

The Oklahoma City Thunder produced one of the largest comebacks in NBA playoff history Thursday night, overcoming a deficit of as many as 29 points to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 114-108 in Game 3 of their first-round series. The win gives the Western Conference's top seed a 3-0 lead.

Oklahoma City trailed by 26 at halftime, which is the largest halftime comeback the NBA playoffs have seen. The 29-point rally ranks as the second largest in the play-by-play era, which dates to 1997. The Thunder cut the margin to single digits by the middle of the third quarter, tied the game in the fourth and went ahead with 80 seconds remaining.

One factor complicates the picture. Memphis guard Ja Morant took a hard fall in the final seconds of the second quarter and was ruled out at the start of the third. He had 15 points and five assists before leaving, and the Grizzlies struggled to create easy shots without their primary creator. Even so, the Thunder's two-way performance in the second half was a major reason for the result.

Oklahoma City, which won Game 1 by 51 points, looked flat over the first two quarters. The Thunder did not pressure the ball, gave up open looks and could not find an offensive rhythm. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams kept the game from getting further away, but Memphis got 23 first-half points from Scotty Pippen Jr.

The turnaround began with a 20-7 Thunder run to open the third quarter, led by Chet Holmgren. He hit three three-pointers in that stretch, the last forcing a Memphis timeout, and the 26-point halftime gap had shrunk to 13. "It wasn't pretty, they hit us first," Holmgren said after the game. Sixteen of his 23 points came in the quarter, many from wide-open looks created by off-ball screens or by Memphis doubling Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams. Rookie center Zach Edey struggled to guard him on the perimeter, and Jaren Jackson Jr. was beaten on a couple of drives.

Alex Caruso supplied the defensive spark late. Matched against Jackson in the post, Caruso timed his move to slap the ball away as Jackson turned for a shot. With under a minute left, he stole the ball from Pippen as the Memphis guard tried a three-pointer, a play that led to a jump ball and was helped by a poor pass from Desmond Bane.

Caruso also contributed on offense. He assisted Holmgren's tying three-pointer late in the fourth quarter and scored on a transition layup with 20 seconds left that put the game out of reach. He finished with 10 points, six rebounds, four steals, three assists and a block. Oklahoma City acquired him from the Chicago Bulls in an offseason trade for Josh Giddey, after the Thunder's second-round exit against Dallas in 2024.

Without Morant, Memphis could not generate quality shots in the second half. Pippen and Bane tried to carry the load, but the Thunder's versatile defensive wings made possessions stagnant. Morant's status for Saturday's next game is not yet known.