Three Takeaways from Oklahoma City's Gritty Game 2 Victory

The Oklahoma City Thunder was able to take down the Memphis Grizzlies for the second time at home in this first-round playoff series, 118-99.

Memphis made it more of a game than the last one, assuredly, only going down by as much as 23 in the game, backed by a team-high 26 points from Jaren Jackson Jr. and 23 points from Ja Morant. They also shot the ball more efficiently from the field and from 3-point range, but it was still not enough to combat the energy of an electrified Thunder team inside Paycom Center.

OKC's stars showed out, having three starters notch 20 points or more in Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and won the rebounding battle emphatically to help generate several more scoring opportunities.

Let's take a look at three takeaways from OKC's Tuesday night win to go up 2-0 versus the Grizzlies in this series:

First Quarters in the Paycom

First quarters inside Paycom Center during playoff season can be deafening, and the team feeds off it.

That was certainly true on Tuesday, as the Thunder came out swinging despite the Grizzlies having a chip on its shoulder after how they lost on Sunday in Game 1. Oklahoma City opened the game with a 9-0 run as Memphis could hardly buy a bucket. Not long after, the Thunder built a 32-17 lead by the end of the opening frame and never relinquished it.

It's difficult to foster momentum when the opposing crowd is feeding off how its team plays. And against the Thunder, it's a recipe for disaster.

Holmgren Hungry as Ever

When Holmgren returned from Injury in February, his all-around energy and tenacity seemed to take a hit. He wasn't as much of a go-getter it seemed, and he wavered in some bigger matchups at times. Obviously still a great player, it seemed his confidence wasn't as high as it'd appeared before his untimely injury in November.

That's seemed to wash away thus far in these first two postseason games.

On Tuesday night, Holmgren posted 20 points on 42.9% shooting, 11 boards and a massive five blocks, also adding three trey balls on eight tries. In Game 1, Holmgren put up 19 points on 45.5% shooting, making three treys on four tries and adding 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

He's flipped a switch, and this type of performance down the stretch, as Oklahoma City seeks to advance deep into the postseason, will be vital.

OKC Thunder Bust Opportunities Wide Open

The Oklahoma City Thunder did everything in its ability to make sure it was put into position to win on Tuesday night.

The Thunder tallied 13 more shots on the game than the Grizzlies, beating them in their game at scoring in the paint having 54 to Memphis' 46. A large part of that can be attributed to the glaring rebound advantage Oklahoma City curated, beating them by 13 boards in that regard and having 16 offensive rebounds on the game.

In addition to that, the Thunder generated 15 turnovers to turn that in to 25 points, committing just seven turnovers of its own for Memphis to turn that into six points.

Oklahoma City is sparking opportunities for itself, leaving no room for Grizzlies' errors.

Next, the Thunder heads to Memphis for an 8:30 p.m. tipoff on Thursday in hopes to take Game 3 to get one win closer to a series sweep.