OKLAHOMA CITY -- — The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies 131-80 in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series on Sunday, the fifth-biggest margin of victory in NBA postseason history.

The 51-point margin was seven points shy of the record and was the largest Game 1 win in NBA playoff history.

Aaron Wiggins scored 21 points, Jalen Williams scored 20 points and Chet Holmgren had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league’s scoring champion with nearly 33 points per game, scored just 15. The Thunder still shot 50.5% from the field.

“We played to our identity,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Nothing more, nothing less than that. We were who we were all year ... and it’s going to be the key to our success, just staying true to who we are.”

Gilgeous-Alexander had said several times since Oklahoma City’s loss to Dallas in last season’s Western Conference semifinals that he would be intentional about getting his teammates better prepared for this postseason.

So far, so good.

“I have a great group of guys around me, and I know that,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And I’ve known that for a long time. ... They obviously played amazing.”

There have been two 58-point playoff margins in NBA history: Denver beating New Orleans 121-63 in 2009 and the Minneapolis Lakers beating the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 in 1956. The Los Angeles Lakers beat Golden State by 56 (126-70) in 1973 and the Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks by 54 (120-66) in 2015.

Ja Morant scored 17 points for Memphis on just 6-for-17 shooting. Jaren Jackson Jr., who averaged just over 22 points in the regular season, scored four points on 2-for-13 shooting. The Grizzlies shot just 34.4% overall.

The Thunder, who finished the regular-season with a league-best 68-14 record, took control with a 20-0 run that gave them a 55-22 lead in the second quarter. They took a 35-point lead into halftime.

“I just felt like after that, the energy just kind of wasn’t there and we were just trying to talk to ourselves to get back into the game," Morant said.

This was Memphis’ first playoff game under interim coach Tuomas Iisalo. He coached just nine NBA regular-season contests before the play-in games.

“If you’re in a playoff series, it’s a best of seven,” Iisalo said. "It doesn’t matter if you win by one point on a buzzer-beater or you win by 50 points, you get one win. So luckily for us, there’s only one way from this and that’s up. And we will analyze it and learn from it. And then we will fix those things that hurt us.”

Game 2 is Tuesday, and Thunder coach Mark Daigneault expects a closer game.

“They played 36 hours ago and had an emotional game, had to turn around and play at noon today, which is a really tough turnaround,” Daigneault said. "So they’re going to be better Tuesday. So I thought we did a good job. But I don’t think we can expect that from them (again). You know they’re going to play a lot better than that.”

------

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Zach Edey vs. Chet Holmgren (Ja Morant gains possession)	0	0
11:44	Jaren Jackson Jr. misses driving layup	0	0
11:42	Jaren Jackson Jr. offensive rebound	0	0
11:39	Desmond Bane makes 1-foot two point shot (Jaren Jackson Jr. assists)	0	2
11:20	Jalen Williams misses 16-foot pullup jump shot	0	2
11:17	Zach Edey defensive rebound	0	2
11:09	Scotty Pippen Jr. makes 6-foot pullup jump shot	0	4
10:56	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes 6-foot two point shot	2	4
10:44	Ja Morant misses 24-foot three point pullup jump shot	2	4
10:42	Chet Holmgren defensive rebound	2	4
10:30	Jalen Williams makes 1-foot layup (Isaiah Hartenstein assists)	4	4
10:17	Desmond Bane misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	4	4
10:12	Chet Holmgren defensive rebound	4	4
10:02	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses 27-foot three point pullup jump shot	4	4
10:00	Desmond Bane defensive rebound	4	4
9:39	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander blocks Zach Edey 's 4-foot layup	4	4
9:38	Zach Edey offensive rebound	4	4
9:38	Zach Edey vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Desmond Bane gains possession)	4	4
9:36	shot clock turnover	4	4
9:25	Jalen Williams out of bounds bad pass turnover	4	4
9:15	Zach Edey offensive foul	4	4
9:15	Zach Edey turnover	4	4
9:05	Chet Holmgren misses 16-foot pullup jump shot	4	4
9:04	Grizzlies defensive team rebound	4	4
9:04	Isaiah Hartenstein loose ball foul	4	4
8:55	Jalen Williams personal foul	4	4
8:48	Ja Morant makes 25-foot three point step back jumpshot (Zach Edey assists)	4	7
8:34	Scotty Pippen Jr. shooting foul	4	7
8:34	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes free throw 1 of 2	5	7
8:34	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes free throw 2 of 2	6	7
8:24	Jaren Jackson Jr. misses 23-foot three point jumper	6	7
8:21	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander defensive rebound	6	7
8:14	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses 17-foot pullup jump shot	6	7
8:11	Zach Edey defensive rebound	6	7
8:02	Desmond Bane bad pass (Isaiah Hartenstein steals)	6	7
7:53	Isaiah Hartenstein makes 12-foot two point shot (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assists)	8	7
7:27	Jaren Jackson Jr. misses 23-foot three point jumper	8	7
7:25	Ja Morant offensive rebound	8	7
7:22	Chet Holmgren blocks Zach Edey 's 1-foot dunk	8	7
7:22	Chet Holmgren defensive rebound	8	7
7:16	Chet Holmgren misses driving floating jump shot	8	7
7:13	Isaiah Hartenstein offensive rebound	8	7
7:12	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses 25-foot three point jumper	8	7
7:09	Zach Edey defensive rebound	8	7
6:55	Zach Edey makes dunk (Jaren Jackson Jr. assists)	8	9
6:42	Jalen Williams misses 23-foot three point jumper	8	9
6:40	Luguentz Dort offensive rebound	8	9
6:38	Luguentz Dort makes 25-foot three point jumper (Chet Holmgren assists)	11	9
6:17	Luguentz Dort blocks Ja Morant 's 12-foot two point shot	11	9
6:15	Chet Holmgren defensive rebound	11	9
6:11	Jalen Williams makes two point shot (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assists)	13	9
6:11	Grizzlies Full timeout	13	9
6:11	John Konchar enters the game for Jaren Jackson Jr.	13	9
6:11	Santi Aldama enters the game for Scotty Pippen Jr.	13	9
5:50	Ja Morant misses 27-foot three point jumper	13	9
5:49	Thunder defensive team rebound	13	9
5:37	Chet Holmgren misses layup	13	9
5:36	Isaiah Hartenstein offensive rebound	13	9
5:35	Isaiah Hartenstein makes two point shot	15	9
5:17	John Konchar makes layup (Ja Morant assists)	15	11
5:06	Isaiah Hartenstein makes 5-foot two point shot (Jalen Williams assists)	17	11
4:58	Desmond Bane out of bounds bad pass turnover	17	11
4:58	Isaiah Joe enters the game for Jalen Williams	17	11
4:58	Jaren Jackson Jr. enters the game for Desmond Bane	17	11
4:43	Isaiah Joe misses 23-foot three point step back jumpshot	17	11
4:39	Ja Morant defensive rebound	17	11
4:32	Ja Morant makes 10-foot driving floating jump shot	17	13
4:16	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses 13-foot two point shot	17	13
4:12	John Konchar defensive rebound	17	13
4:07	John Konchar misses 25-foot three point shot	17	13
4:06	Isaiah Hartenstein defensive rebound	17	13
4:06	Cason Wallace enters the game for Isaiah Hartenstein	17	13
4:06	Marvin Bagley III enters the game for Zach Edey	17	13
3:49	Luguentz Dort traveling	17	13
3:37	Ja Morant misses 8-foot two point shot	17	13
3:35	Chet Holmgren defensive rebound	17	13
3:29	John Konchar shooting foul	17	13
3:29	Chet Holmgren makes free throw 1 of 2	18	13
3:29	Alex Caruso enters the game for Luguentz Dort	18	13
3:29	Chet Holmgren makes free throw 2 of 2	19	13
3:10	Santi Aldama misses driving floating jump shot	19	13
3:06	Santi Aldama offensive rebound	19	13
3:06	Santi Aldama makes tip shot	19	15
2:56	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses 27-foot three point step back jumpshot	19	15
2:54	Chet Holmgren offensive rebound	19	15
2:54	Santi Aldama shooting foul	19	15
2:54	Thunder Full timeout	19	15
2:54	Desmond Bane enters the game for Ja Morant	19	15
2:54	Scotty Pippen Jr. enters the game for John Konchar	19	15
2:54	Chet Holmgren makes free throw 1 of 2	20	15
2:54	Chet Holmgren makes free throw 2 of 2	21	15
2:38	Desmond Bane makes driving layup	21	17
2:22	Chet Holmgren makes 26-foot three point jumper (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assists)	24	17
2:07	Scotty Pippen Jr. misses 9-foot pullup jump shot	24	17
2:05	Chet Holmgren defensive rebound	24	17
1:59	Santi Aldama shooting foul	24	17
1:59	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses free throw 1 of 3	24	17
1:59	Thunder offensive team rebound	24	17
1:59	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes free throw 2 of 3	25	17
1:59	Jaylin Williams enters the game for Chet Holmgren	25	17
1:59	John Konchar enters the game for Santi Aldama	25	17
1:59	Zach Edey enters the game for Marvin Bagley III	25	17
1:59	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes free throw 3 of 3	26	17
1:39	Desmond Bane misses two point shot	26	17
1:36	Jaylin Williams defensive rebound	26	17
1:31	Isaiah Joe makes 23-foot three point shot (Alex Caruso assists)	29	17
1:04	Desmond Bane misses 25-foot three point jumper	29	17
1:02	Grizzlies offensive team rebound	29	17
1:02	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander loose ball foul	29	17
1:00	Cason Wallace personal foul	29	17
1:00	Zach Edey misses free throw 1 of 2	29	17
1:00	Grizzlies offensive team rebound	29	17
1:00	Jaren Jackson Jr. turnover (lane violation)	29	17
47.1	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lost ball turnover (Scotty Pippen Jr. steals)	29	17
35.0	Desmond Bane makes 26-foot three point jumper (Scotty Pippen Jr. assists)	29	20
29.1	Jaylin Williams makes 26-foot three point jumper (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assists)	32	20
20.0	Scotty Pippen Jr. offensive charge	32	20
20.0	Scotty Pippen Jr. turnover	32	20
20.0	Ajay Mitchell enters the game for Alex Caruso	32	20
20.0	Marvin Bagley III enters the game for Scotty Pippen Jr.	32	20
20.0	Vince Williams Jr. enters the game for Zach Edey	32	20
6.2	Jaylin Williams offensive charge	32	20
6.2	Jaylin Williams turnover	32	20
6.2	Jalen Williams enters the game for Jaylin Williams	32	20
6.2	Alex Caruso enters the game for Ajay Mitchell	32	20
6.2	Ja Morant enters the game for Marvin Bagley III	32	20
6.2	Santi Aldama enters the game for Vince Williams Jr.	32	20
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	32	20

Related Tags

Memphis Grizzlies vs Oklahoma City Thunder Live StreamWatch Memphis Grizzlies vs Oklahoma City Thunder FreeGrizzlies vs Thunder Live ScoreMEM vs OKC GameNBA Stream Memphis GrizzliesNBA Stream Oklahoma City ThunderPaycom CenterNBA Live StreamBasketball Streams

Explore More

Memphis Grizzlies Standings Oklahoma City Thunder Standings Memphis Grizzlies Stats Oklahoma City Thunder Stats NBA Standings NBA Schedule

Article Sections

Check all game sections

Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Paycom Center

Oklahoma City, OK

Date & Time

5:00 PM, April 20, 2025

Coverage

ABC, ERADM

Attendance

18,203

Referees

Jason Goldenberg, Tony Brothers, Nick Buchert, J.B. DeRosa

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
San Antonio	43	16	.729	W11
Houston	37	22	.627	L1
Memphis	22	36	.379	W1
Dallas	21	38	.356	L2
New Orleans	19	42	.311	W4

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Oklahoma City	46	15	.754	W1
Denver	37	23	.617	L1
Minnesota	37	23	.617	W2
Portland	29	32	.475	L1
Utah	18	42	.300	L5

Need Help?

Explore our comprehensive NBA streams guide for all available options and platform comparisons.

View Streaming Guide

Thunder

Grizzlies

Thunder beat Grizzlies 131-80 in Game 1, 5th-biggest margin of victory in NBA postseason history

Game Analysis

Regular Season Series

Playoff Series

Game Analysis

Game Stats

Game Article

Game Recap

Play by Play

Play By Play

Related Tags

Explore More