The Cleveland Cavaliers destroyed the Miami Heat by 68 points on December 17, 1991, setting a new NBA record for the greatest margin of victory. The previous record had stood for over three decades, but a new benchmark has been reached just 15 days shy of 30 years later. The Memphis Grizzlies thrashed the Oklahoma City Thunder 152-79 at FedEx Forum on Thursday night, setting a new record.
As one might expect, the Grizzlies dominated the game almost from the first tip. Memphis led by 15 points in each quarter, restricting the Thunder to 5-of-23 shooting in the first quarter to grab a 31-16 advantage. With a 41-20 thrashing in the second quarter, the Grizzlies shot 77 percent and converted 5-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc, the lead increased even more. Memphis had doubled Oklahoma City on the scoreboard at 72-36 at halftime, and the onslaught continued.
Oklahoma City’s finest offensive quarter came in the third quarter, when they scored 26 points and made four three-pointers. Unfortunately for Oklahoma City, Memphis was also putting up points, converting seven triples while shooting 61 percent and scoring 41 points. The Grizzlies then put together their most dominant stretch of the evening, going on a 32-5 run to start the fourth quarter and grab a 78-point (!) lead with only three minutes left in the game.
When the score was 145-67, it appeared as if the Grizzlies were going to score more than twice as many points as the Thunder. Oklahoma City scored 12 points in the final 2:52 of the game, their finest offensive burst of the night, and the visitors averted that destiny, but the final margin of 73 points tells the story of how lopsided the game was for four quarters.
In many ways, the game was statistically significant. Memphis had nine players in double figures, led by Jarrett Jackson’s 27 points, and they did it all without Ja Morant. The Grizzlies shot 62.5 percent from the field and 19-of-36 (52.8 percent) from three-point range as a team, racking up 41 assists and 14 offensive rebounds on just 36 missed attempts. Oklahoma City, on the other hand, shot 32.9 percent from the field and 28.9 percent from long range while committing 20 turnovers and overall struggling.
There were also some wacky individual values in the +/- column for good measure. In 25 minutes, Thunder guard Luguentz Dort had a -53, and no other member of OKC’s roster (which was without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey for the night) had a better score than -18. Santi Aldama, a Grizzlies rookie, concluded the game with a +52 rating in less than 29 minutes of action, and five other Memphis players had a +39 rating or higher.
Overall, it’s tough to adequately convey the destruction that occurred here, and the 73-point deficit could have been even worse if OKC hadn’t made a late drive. The Thunder at least tried to carry on as usual after the final buzzer sounded, tweeting a “final score” tweet for the ages.
This record may not last nearly as long as the previous one, but everyone who watched Grizzlies-Thunder on Thursday saw a game that will be remembered for a long time.
