Following a timeout, any frustrations with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s shot selection were zipped. One stepback 3-pointers followed by another put OKC ahead with enough distance. A driving and-one layup showed why the reigning MVP can silence an entire road crowd.

The Oklahoma City Thunder mounted a 19-point comeback in their 114-100 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. As the old saying goes, it was a tale of two halves.

There was a little bit of deja vu with how this game’s story started compared to the Game 3 classic in last year’s playoffs. Ironically enough, that was the last time Ja Morant suited up against OKC. The first half made you think that perhaps he did figure something out.

The Grizzlies had the offense going. An early 20-7 run put them ahead. Morant was able to pass it out to the perimeter. Cedric Coward looked closer to an NBA vet than a rookie. The Thunder were in a 33-25 deficit after the first quarter.

Another long run, this time 20-8, saw the Grizzlies put the Thunder in their biggest hole of the season. Jaren Jackson Jr. swished in an outside look to make it a 53-34 score with six minutes left in the second frame. A mixture of bad defense and ice-cold shooting had OKC on the verge of being on the wrong side of a blowout.

After a timeout, the Thunder settled down. They had a strong finish in the first half. They scored 26 points in the second quarter. The Grizzlies entered halftime with a 62-51 lead. Pretty decent, but there was definitely a sense that they left some meat on the bone.

It didn’t take long for the Thunder to make it a brand-new ballgame. 11 straight points sliced the Grizzlies’ lead to 67-65 with a little over six minutes left in the third quarter. At that point, both teams went back and forth. Ajay Mitchell’s pull-up jumper gave OKC the advantage with less than a minute left. Alex Caruso made a much-needed outside shot in the final possession.

Before you could even process what happened, the Thunder had an 85-80 lead after the third quarter. They had a 34-18 scoring advantage in that frame to completely flip the scoreboard. The OKC bench lineup held its own as Gilgeous-Alexander rested.

By the time the reigning MVP checked in, the Thunder had a 95-91 lead with a little over six minutes left. Clutch time. He closed it out with three straight buckets to open up a 12-point lead with less than three minutes to go. When he wasn’t scoring, he found Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren for important buckets.

The Grizzlies couldn’t buy a bucket. The hot outside shooting first half froze up. Morant made questionable on-ball decisions. Jackson Jr. couldn’t step up. Memphis didn’t have anybody else who could go score-for-score with Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder scored 29 points in the fourth quarter for the final touches of a comeback.

The Thunder shot 43% from the field and went 10-of-43 (23.3%) from 3. They shot 22-of-26 on free throws. They had 19 assists on 41 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with an efficient 35 points. Holmgren had 21 points and seven rebounds. Hartenstein had 18 points and 13 rebounds. Mitchell finished with 21 points and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies shot 39% from the field and went 17-of-44 (38.6%) from 3. They shot 13-of-18 on free throws. They had 30 assists on 35 baskets. Six Grizzlies players scored double-digit points.

Morant had 11 points on 3-of-18 shooting and eight assists. Jackson Jr. tallied 17 points and seven rebounds. Coward had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Jaylen Wells and Santi Aldama each had 12 points. Jock Landale scored 10 points.

Well, this had ‘ugly loss’ written all over it. The Thunder looked like a team that was ready to end this four-game road trip. Things didn’t look pretty. As they flirted with a 20-point deficit, they could’ve easily punted the ball and move on. But nope. They turned it up in the second half. And made all of the Twitter meltdowns during the first half look silly.

A really good win for the Thunder. They did it again against the Grizzlies. This time, Morant was out there. Gilgeous-Alexander pulled this team to the finish line. But the role players deserve credit, too. They turned up the defensive intensity after the break.

Let’s look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus

Matching up against Coward, Gilgeous-Alexander handed the impressive rookie a valuable hands-on lesson. A couple of power dribbles created enough space to get to the basket. Wells was forced to help and reached in for the desperation steal attempt. Instead, it gave the reigning MVP an and-one layup.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points on 11-of-22 shooting, seven rebounds and six assists. He shot 3-of-9 from 3 and went 10-of-11 on free throws. He also had two steals.

Experimenting more with his outside jumper, Gilgeous-Alexander had another slow start. As the Thunder fell behind by 19 points, he looked like somebody who was going through the motions. But if you watch enough OKC games, you start to sense a pattern with how his 30-point burgers play out.

Everybody knows by now Gilgeous-Alexander is a second-half player. He loves the high-stress situations. With thousands of people hoping for your failure, he loves the library-esque silence of a road arena and the visual of the lower bowl slowly getting emptier.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 22 points in the second half alone. He found a flow. Once the Thunder realized he had that look in his eyes, they gave him the ball and cleared out. The foul-happy Grizzlies had nobody who could slow him down as they slowly chipped away from their double-digit deficit.

Entering another clutch situation, Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t need long to put this away. This time, the three-level scorer did it from beyond the arc. A couple of stepback 3-pointers were soul-crushers. An and-one drive to the basket vanquished any hope of an upset.

At this point, this is your standard Gilgeous-Alexander outing. Even when it looks like he won’t reach his patented 20 points, he does so within a few possessions. There’s no other scorer out there who can put on a lab coat and dissect an opposing defense like he does. This was just the latest example as he makes the Morant debates half a decade ago continue to look sillier.

Chet Holmgren: A-minus

Scoring on a turnaround fadeaway jumper, Holmgren was feeling it at the baseline for his last bucket. Usually deep and running a diplomatic offense, the Thunder went the other way and had a top-heavy distribution. Kinda need to do that when you’re on the cusp of a blowout.

Holmgren finished with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, seven rebounds and two assists. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws. He also had one steal.

Playing against the league’s worst paint defense, Holmgren had it easy. He was the recipient of a couple of alley-oop catches. And when he caught the ball deep in the paint, the seven-footer didn’t need much space to let off a decent jumper.

As the Thunder mounted a second-half comeback, Holmgren scored 12 points. He helped the bench lineups not dip with Gilgeous-Alexander off the floor. Against Jackson Jr., it was a clash of similar styles. Both centers are more perimeter-oriented.

Isaiah Hartenstein: A

While the outside ball never got going, Hartenstein quietly kept the Thunder within striking distance. He’s turned into a weapon underneath the rim. Putback dunks and rolls to the basket aren’t as flashy as outside buckets, but those types of meat-and-potatoes moves are what help you become a winner.

Hartenstein finished with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, 13 rebounds and two assists. He shot 2-of-4 on free throws. He also had one block.

The Thunder have learned that the more involved Hartenstein is, the better. Most traditional pick-and-rolls involve him. He’s connected with Holmgren on a couple of alley-oop plays, too. In the early stages of his second season in OKC, everybody has figured out how to best utilize the traditional seven-footer with a touch of modern-day skills.

Hartenstein helped the Thunder with eight points in the fourth quarter. With Zach Edey still out, he was able to dominate on the boards. The Grizzlies couldn’t slow down the double-double machine. No championship slump for him, as he’s one-up on his career year last season.

Ajay Mitchell: A

Helping the Thunder keep their distance on the scoreboard, Mitchell had no problem leading the second unit as Gilgeous-Alexander fueled up. Still dealing with several injuries, perhaps nobody else on OKC has taken better advantage of the vacated on-ball possessions than him.

Mitchell finished with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, six rebounds and four assists. He shot 2-of-3 from 3 and went 3-of-4 on free throws. He also had three steals.

At this point, Mitchell has normalized these outings. You no longer blink when he has double-digit points. The usual drive-heavy scorer tallied his buckets with his jumper. A couple of outside looks were humongous as the Thunder slowly got back into this game.

The Thunder aren’t 10-1 without Mitchell. You couldn’t even sense Jalen Williams’ and Aaron Wiggins’ absences. He’s given the Thunder another ball-handler who can get his own bucket and playmake a little. That was their biggest weakness last season. Now, it’s another tool in the toolbox.

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