Three Takeaways from Oklahoma City's Game 1 Statement Over the Memphis Grizzlies

The Oklahoma City Thunder started off its postseason similar to how it operated throughout the regular season—blowing its opponent out of the water.

Defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs by 51 points, 131-80, the Thunder amassed its largest win of the entire season and captured the fifth-biggest margin of victory in NBA postseason history.

It was a bang to start off the playoffs, silencing much doubt and carrying heavy momentum into Game 2 as Oklahoma City looks to advance in four games.

The crazy thing—Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was just the fourth-leading scorer for Oklahoma City in this game, illustrating the presence each starter held as well as Aaron Wiggins who led the team in scoring off the bench.

Let's take a look at three takeaways from an impeccable opening playoff performance by the Thunder:

Wiggins Leads the Way in Historic Win

Let it be known that Wiggins led the Thunder in scoring in its largest playoff win in franchise history.

Twenty-one points in 26 minutes, Wiggins' 8-of-15 from the field, four rebounds, three assists and four three-pointers helped Oklahoma City anchor down its win by the time the buzzer sounded. It was impressive, as he led Jalen Williams, who had 20 of his own, Chet Holmgren with 19 points and Gilgeous-Alexander with 15.

It's the beginning of a bright postseason for the Swiss Army Knife Wiggins.

Masterful Defense

The Thunder absolutely channeled its best possible defense in this game, only allowing 36 points in the first half and 80 points in the entire game.

It was a struggle for Memphis, shooting only 34.4% from the field and an abysmal 17.6% from three. What certainly did them in though were turnover issues. Oklahoma City generated 24 Memphis turnovers, subsequently leading to 24 extra Thunder points as it capitalized off the Grizzlies' carelessness with the ball.

Ja Morant did what he could, garnering 17 points alongside Marvin Bagley III's 17 points. Outside of those two, no Grizzly touched double-digit scoring numbers.

Spreading Wealth, Moving Forward

As the Thunder amassed a colossal lead by halftime, the team's reserves got plenty of play time in the third quarter into the final frame.

Oklahoma City ultimately went 13 players deep in its rotation, having every Thunder score the ball once outside of the lone Alex Caruso, who posted four assists and three boards with a plus-30 plus-minus. Haivng spoke of Wiggins' 21 points off the bench—Jaylin Williams added nine, Kenrich Williams and Isaiah Joe added six, Ajay Mitchell added five and Cason Wallace had only two points, but a massive slam dunk in traffic which electrified the Paycom Center crowd.

The Thunder now has great momentum as the Grizzlies stay in town for Game 2 at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.