Stiles Points: OKC Thunder Show Growth, Maturity in Historic Win

It was a team unrecognizable in the first half of this game. The Oklahoma City Thunder, who are the model of consistency and excellence in the 2024-25 NBA campaign to date.

They entered Thursday with two dominating victories over the Memphis Grizzlies under their belts to start the NBA Playoffs after a historic regular season. 68 wins out of the 82-game season, the most double-digit wins in NBA history, the most road wins in club history, the best cross-conference record in NBA history –– the list goes on.

When the ball was tipped in the FedEx Forum in Game 3, the Grizzlies were on the ropes and the Thunder hoped to land a knockout punch.

Instead, it was Memphis that landed the first haymaker. And the second. And the third. Eventually, the Grizzlies' lead swelled to 29 points in this game, before being trimmed to a measly 26 at intermission.

The Thunder looked lethargic defensively, zapped of energy and laissez-faire with the basketball. A jarring sight for a team whose foundational values include mottos such as "0-0 mindset" and are reprised as the hardest-playing team in the league.

"Out of halftime we reconnected to who we are. We were out of character in the first half. Some of that had to do with how well Memphis played... In a game that doesn't feel attainable in certain parts of it, our response was great," Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said following Game 3.

Those qualities crept onto the court for Oklahoma City for the first time this season, but did not last long.

After shooting a lowly 40% from the floor, 22% from 3-point land and an ice-cold 68% at the charity stripe in the first half while losing the turnover battle 6-3 and rebounding battle 23-19, the Thunder's clear doppelgängers returned to the locker room and did not emerge for the second half.

Oklahoma City did a 180 in the second half, shooting 50% from the floor, 45% from beyond the arc and 70% at the charity stripe while winning the turnover battle 13-5 and the battle of the boards 24-18.

It was a 23-8 run that bridged the third and fourth frames for Oklahoma City to eventually take its first lead in the final frame to erase a 29-point deficit.

"If they can build it, we can erase it," Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said of the comeback win postseason.

The Thunder capitalized for 19 points off the Grizzlies' 13 second-half giveaways. Memphis shot a franchise-tying best 11-of-22 from beyond the arc in the first half before being held to 3-for-20 from distance in the second half.

This was once again an example of the Thunder displaying the uncommon maturity and growth of a team that is not supposed to be this good, this fast. OKC's youth and "inexperience" spits in the face of NBA norms and did so again tonight.

It was spearheaded by two of the least postseason-tested players on the roster, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, with a combined 13 games of playoff experience between the two after Thursday night.

The star of the show was Holmgren, as the Gonzaga product faded in the first half to the tune of just one point, three rebounds, a turnover and 0-for-4 from the floor in 14 minutes of action.

Oklahoma City's Sophomore center did a 180 after halftime, posting 23 points and five rebounds in the second half on 8-for-12 from the floor and a jaw-dropping 5-for-8 from beyond the arc in 19 minutes of work, good enough for a +27 as the Thunder mounted a comeback.

"Credit to Mark [Daigneault] for sticking with me - changed the trajectory of the game, trusting me and calling a play for me to bomb one out of half... Once I saw one go in, I felt good. As a team, we controlled what we can control and were able to pull away," Holmgren said after the game.

Take it from the seven-footer himself, the decision by the Thunder bench boss to draw up a set play for Holmgren out of intermission shifted the contest because of what they lacked.

On top of the natural shot variants in the first half and waining defense from Oklahoma City for the first time all series, the Thunder also missed out on the mismatches an aggressive Holmgren gave them during the first two contests of this first-round series.

It appears, Daigneault understood for the Thunder to pull off something historic, they had to get the 22-year-old going and did just that out of the locker room.

This moment is going to matter later in the postseason. No matter how messy it was to get to the high pressurized moments, it came.

When the game got tight, as the lead slipped from Memphis and momentum shifted to OKC, it was the youngsters who stepped up to hit big shots.

That was the burning question around this Thunder team; the only hole pundits could poke at has been who steps up besides Gilgeous-Alexander?

In the first round, against a Grizzlies team that won nearly 50 games this season, it has been the Holmgren-Williams show. It has been a sustained and repeated defensive clinic. It has been winning basketball.

“Our defense is our superpower. When we’re locked in on that side of the floor, we’re an unstoppable force," Defensive Ace Alex Caruso said postgame.

No one knows what the future holds for this Thunder team, but if Oklahoma City accomplishes its lofty goals this summer, Game 3 of the Memphis series will make the Championship DVD (if those are even still in commission).

Song of the Day: Meet Me in Memphis by Jimmy Buffett