Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t just play well Friday night. He looked like he was daring somebody to test him.
After burying an and-one 3-pointer in the second quarter at FedExForum, he puffed out his chest, balled up his hands and barked, “And one,” before dapping up Alex Caruso and chest bumping him. Memphis fans had already started sliding back into their seats.
The message was clear: the Thunder weren’t there to trade punches. They were there to own the building.
Oklahoma City did exactly that in a 128-97 rout of the Grizzlies, a team that came in at 6-2 and never found a way to slow down the league’s hottest-looking force. The Thunder were missing three starters in Chet Holmgren (right knee injury recovery), Jalen Williams (left ankle surgery) and Cason Wallace (left shoulder surgery), and they were also without Jaylin Williams (low back spasms), Thomas Sorber (right knee surgery) and Nikola Topić (low back surgery).
None of it mattered. OKC opened NBA Cup group play with the kind of edge that says the roster may be patched together, but the identity is intact.
Ajay Mitchell was the biggest reason the night turned into a blowout. The 24-year-old guard delivered a career-high 35 points and added five assists, shooting 14 for 20 from the field and 4 for 7 from deep in 30 minutes.
Gilgeous-Alexander backed him with 28 points and four assists on 11-for-22 shooting, including 3 for 5 from 3-point range, in 29 minutes. Together, they kept Memphis under constant pressure and pushed the Thunder to a third straight win after the two losses to Dallas and Houston by a combined 45 points.
Mitchell’s work in the lane was especially damaging. He kept slipping through traffic, finishing through contact and turning crowded possessions into easy points.
One sequence midway through the second quarter summed it up: he grabbed a fastbreak pass, isolated Ty Jerome, hit an in-and-out move that sent Jerome stumbling, and glided in for the layup. That kind of touch in the paint has been a theme for him all season.
He entered the game averaging 14.4 drives per game, leading to 6.9 shot attempts a night, and he was converting 60% of those looks.
That interior pressure helped Oklahoma City pile up 62 points in the paint, compared with Memphis’ 32.
Jared McCain also gave the Thunder a needed lift from the perimeter. He had been stuck in a rough stretch, going 1 for 22 from 3-point range over his previous four games, but he snapped out of it with 21 points, five rebounds and a career-high four steals in 29 minutes.
He shot 9 for 14 overall and 3 for 8 from deep. Late in the first quarter, he knocked down a corner 3 that forced Memphis to call timeout, and his teammates greeted him with three fingers in the air when he returned to the bench.
That shot mattered because Oklahoma City needs him to keep firing. With injuries thinning the rotation, his spacing has become even more valuable.
The Thunder’s energy showed up everywhere, not just in the scoring. Late in the third quarter, rookie center Aday Mara missed a chip shot, grabbed the offensive rebound and then missed the putback that would have drawn a foul.
He reacted with frustration, clapping his hands. His teammates responded with encouragement instead of criticism.
Kenrich Williams smiled, rose up and chest bumped him. Gilgeous-Alexander followed by pounding Mara’s chest with both hands.
The miss didn’t matter nearly as much as the emotion behind it.
That’s the kind of tone Oklahoma City carried all night: active, connected and relentless. After looking flat during its two-game skid, the Thunder played with force on both ends and never let Memphis breathe.
Next up is a home game against Washington at 7 p.m. CST Saturday.
In Other News...
Thunder May Have Found Shai Gilgeous-Alexanders Surprise Scoring Help
With the Thunder shorthanded in the middle of a stretch that has tested their depth, a new frontcourt option has started to emerge alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The injuries have thinned Oklahoma Citys rotation and forced the team to look harder at who can take on more responsibility, especially on the offensive end, where every extra source of scoring matters.
Aday Mara gave them a reason to keep looking in his direction in a win over the Washington Wizards, showing enough poise and activity to suggest there may be more there than just spot duty. Oklahoma City is now weighing whether to expand his role as it tries to keep the offense afloat while key pieces remain out, and that kind of internal answer can matter even more when the roster is stretched this thin. [Read more 🡒]
Nikola Topic Just Reached An Important Step In His Thunder Return
Nikola Topic has reached a meaningful checkpoint in his recovery, with the Thunder assigning the young guard to their G League affiliate as he works his way back from back surgery. It is the latest step in a stop-and-start beginning to his NBA career for the No. 12 pick in the 2024 draft, whose development has been slowed by a string of injuries and illnesses since he entered the league.
For Oklahoma City, the move is less about the short-term box score than the long view, giving Topic a chance to get back on the floor in a controlled setting and start rebuilding momentum. He has already spent the entire regular season sidelined, and now the next question is how quickly he can turn this assignment into real game action again. [Read more 🡒]
Jared McCain Is Giving The Thunder Exactly What Shai Needed
Jared McCain gave Oklahoma City the kind of early lift that can make a lopsided game feel settled before it really starts. In the Thunders 124-97 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA Cup West Group B stage, McCain finished with 21 points, five rebounds, four steals and a block, and his first-quarter burst helped set the tone for a night when the ball kept moving and the pressure kept coming from both ends.
What stood out afterward was how naturally McCain fit into the Thunders team-first rhythm, especially with the offense spreading the load around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. McCain pointed to the cohesion on both sides of the floor, and it was easy to see why this version of Oklahoma City can make life easier on its star while still forcing opponents to deal with waves of different threats. [Read more 🡒]