NBA Game Recap
-
Memphis at Oklahoma CityWed Apr 11, 2018 8:00 PM EDT
Oklahoma City 137, Memphis 123
Apr 11, 2018, 8:00 PM EDT
Final |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
T |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
28 |
29 |
39 |
27 |
123 |
||
38 |
39 |
28 |
32 |
137 |
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Russell Westbrook needed rebounds to reach a milestone, so Paul George took care of the points.
George scored 40 points, Westbrook clinched a triple-double average for the second straight season and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 137-123 on Wednesday night.
Westbrook entered the game 16 rebounds shy of becoming the first player to average a triple-double for a season more than once. He reached that total with just over nine minutes left in the third quarter and received a standing ovation. He finished with just six points, but had a career-high 20 rebounds and 19 assists.
"I'm very, very thankful and blessed, man, to go out and compete," Westbrook said. "Like I've said many, many times, I don't take this game for granted. I don't take going out on the floor and competing for granted."
George made 13 of 20 shots, including eight of 14 3-pointers.
"I just caught a rhythm early," George said. "It's just sticking with it, staying with the process and just putting work in - a lot of work in. It paid off tonight."
With a loss, the Thunder would have been a No. 8 seed and forced to play No. 1 seed Houston in the first round. Instead, Oklahoma City will play Utah.
Steven Adams scored 24 points and Corey Brewer added 17 for the Thunder, who matched a franchise record with 20 made 3-pointers.
Dillon Brooks scored a career-high 36 points for Memphis.
Westbrook had one of the most unusual first halves of his career to help the Thunder take a 20-point lead. He had 12 assists and 11 rebounds, yet only scored one point and took two shots. George scored 26 points on 9-of-10 shooting, including 5 of 5 on 3-pointers in the first half to help Oklahoma City score a season-high 77 points in the first half.
Brooks scored 16 points in the third quarter to help the Grizzlies trim their deficit to 105-96 at the end of the third quarter. The Grizzlies scored 39 points in the period.
Memphis hung tough in the fourth quarter before back-to-back 3-pointers by Terrance Ferguson and George pushed Oklahoma City's lead to 133-116.
"Obviously, I thought we had plays where we could have prevented points, but for the most part, they (Memphis) just played really well tonight," George said. "I thought we did a great job of not falling into just being complacent. I thought we played phenomenal tonight. It just so happened that they played well as well. It's like that sometimes. It's just great that we played well enough to win."
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Marc Gasol (rest), Tyreke Evans (personal reasons), JaMychal Green (knee soreness), Wayne Selden Jr. (right knee soreness), Andrew Harrison (right wrist/left shoulder) and Jarell Martin (left ankle) all sat out.
Thunder: Westbrook brought F Nick Collison out to midcourt with him before the game. Westbrook said he wasn't sure if it would be the 37-year-old Collison's last regular-season game, but he wanted the crowd to acknowledge Collison's contribution to the franchise. ... G Alex Abrines (concussion protocol) did not play. ... Westbrook had seven assists in the first quarter. ... Brewer was fouled on a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and left the game for good with a knee sprain.
STAT LINES
Westbrook matched a season low with two field goals made and set a season low with nine field goal attempts.
SUPPORTING CAST
Westbrook didn't shoot well, but the other four starters shot a combined 33 for 55 from the field.
QUOTABLE
Bickerstaff on the team's 22-60 finish: "When you go through these types of times, everybody who is involved's true character comes out. It's easy when things are roses and sunshine to be a good player, a good teammate, to be a positive coach, whatever it may be. But these times, who are you? Hopefully everybody involved learned from it."
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: Season is over.
Thunder: Will open the playoffs this weekend.
---
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP
---
For more AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball
Leaders
Memphis | PTS | +/- | AST | REB | ST | BLK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
D. Brooks | 36 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
K. Simmons | 15 | -9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Oklahoma City | PTS | +/- | AST | REB | ST | BLK |
P. George | 40 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
S. Adams | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
Team Comparison
MEM | OKC | |
---|---|---|
Points For | 123 | 137 |
Field Goals | 44/91-48% | 47/85-55% |
Three Pointers | 13/31-42% | 20/43-47% |
Free Throws | 22/24-92% | 23/32-72% |
Offensive Rebounds | 9 | 8 |
Defensive Rebounds | 32 | 37 |
Rebounds | 44 | 52 |
Blocks | 2 | 3 |
Steals | 9 | 8 |
Turnovers | 13 | 14 |
Points Scored Off Turnovers | 17 | 20 |
Points in the Paint | 50 | 46 |
Fast Break Points | 20 | 30 |
Personal Fouls | 22 | 23 |
Technical Fouls | 0 | 0 |
Flagrant Fouls | 0 | 0 |
Ejections | 0 | 0 |
2017-18 Reg Season - OKC Leads Series 4-0
Date | Result | Away Pts Ldr | Home Pts Ldr |
---|---|---|---|
Sat Dec 9 | OKC 102 @ MEM 101 | S. Adams 21 | T. Evans 29 |
Sun Feb 11 | MEM 92 @ OKC 110 | M. Gasol 18 | P. George 33 |
Wed Feb 14 | OKC 121 @ MEM 114 | P. George 28 | A. Harrison 28 |
Wed Apr 11 | MEM 123 @ OKC 137 | D. Brooks 36 | P. George 40 |
Game Information
Stadium: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
Attendance: 18,203 |
Game Time: 2:7 |