Not being able to bring up the ball past halfcourt, Anthony Pritchard created a costly mistake. The turnover segued to OKC being on the wrong side of a game-winner. Memphis celebrated a last-second bucket when Charlie Brown Jr. found Tyler Burton for the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The OKC Blue suffered a heartbreaker in a 122-119 loss to the Memphis Hustle. The home defeat puts OKC’s record at 1-2 on the season.
Well, at least folks got their money’s worth. It was a back-and-forth where neither team led by more than nine points. The Hustle created a 32-26 lead after the first quarter. But the Blue answered right back with a 32-point second frame. At the break, OKC had a slight 58-56 halftime advantage.
The second half was much of the same story. The Blue scored 31 points in the third quarter. They entered the final frame with an 89-85 lead. Jahmai Mashack tied it up at 94 points apiece with a little under eight minutes left to play. Brown Jr. had revenge on his former NBA home with a monster scoring outing.
After Malevy Leons converted an and-one opportunity, the Blue had a 119-114 lead with 1:14 left. Sounds like enough, but the G League’s fast-paced play allowed the Hustle to score eight straight points to complete the comeback and stun the crowd. They scored 37 points in the final frame.
The Blue shot 51% from the field and went 13-of-34 (38.2%) from 3. They shot 11-of-14 on free throws. They had 29 assists on 43 baskets. Six Blue players scored double-digit points.
Meanwhile, the Hustle shot 42% from the field and went 19-of-46 (41.3%) from 3. They shot 12-of-14 on free throws. They had 21 assists on 40 baskets. Five Hustle players scored double-digit points.
Here are some notable individual performances from both sides:
Brooks Barnhizer: 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 3-of-3 on free throws, nine rebounds, three assistsBranden Carlson: 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, 3-of-5 from 3, nine rebounds, five assists, four blocksChris Youngblood: 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting, 3-of-7 from 3, eight reboundsDariq Whitehead: 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, 2-of-8 from 3, two assistsCharlie Brown Jr.: 32 points on 11-of-18 shooting, 5-of-9 from 3, 3-of-3 on free throws, six rebounds, three assistsTyler Burton: 21 points on 5-of-18 shooting, 3-of-11 from 3, 4-of-5 on free throws, nine rebounds, five assistsNate Hinton: 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 2-of-4 from 3, three rebounds, two assistsJahmai Mashack: 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting, 1-of-5 from 3, five rebounds, three assists
Here are the full highlights from the Blue’s three-point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies‘ G League affiliate: