OKC Thunder player grades: SGA, Darius Bazley combine for 60 points in 125-118 loss to Grizzlies

The Oklahoma City Thunder come up short against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, 125-118.

This was a good loss for the Thunder as they fought to the wire against a Grizzlies team that is the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs standings. The Grizzlies led by as much as 18 points and for double digits for the majority of the game, but the Thunder were never out of the game and continued to stay competitive despite the lead only changing three times.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Darius Bazley were the headliners for the Thunder in this game as they combined for 60 points. This included Bazley scoring a career-high in points and Gilgeous-Alexander finishing with another 30-point performance.

Meanwhile, for the Grizzlies, it was an evenly distributed scoring output as seven of the 10 players who stepped on the floor this game scored in the double digits. Desmond Bane led the way with 21 points.

Overall, this was a productive loss. The shorthanded Thunder were able to make this a game until the final buzzer against one of the best young teams in the league. Let’s take a look at player grades.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A+

Gilgeous-Alexanders continues to play excellent since the All-Star break as he collected his seventh 30-plus point performance over his last nine games. In this game, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points on 9-of-20 shooting that included going a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line along with seven assists and six rebounds.

Gilgeous-Alexander attacked the paint all game long and that’s where he produced most of his points from with either finishes around the rim or getting a foul called. This was a great bounce-back performance for Gilgeous-Alexander after scoring a season-low eight points last time out against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

Darius Bazley: A+

Darius Bazley had one of his best games of his young career as he scored a career-high 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting that included going 3-of-7 from three along with grabbing 10 rebounds. Bazley did most of his damage around the paint as he was the recipient of good passes and did a swell job at just being at the right spots in the paint.

Bazley’s scoring aggressiveness was also rewarded with eight free throw attempts, where he split the makes and misses.

Lindy Waters III: A+

Lindy Waters III tied his season-high 16 points as he shot 4-of-9 from three this game. This is now Waters III’s second game in his last three where he has scored 16 points. Considering that he is a two-way player who the team self-admitted didn’t even prioritize prior to the start of the regular season, Waters III has been a nice surprise for the Thunder.

Waters III mentioned after the game that he has to continue to find shots for himself as opposing teams begin to run him off the three-point line but said that this isn’t anything new for him since he also had to make the same adjustment in the G League.

Aleksej Pokusevski: B

Aleksek Pokusevski had a solid game as he finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. This Pokusevski’s fifth straight game of scoring at least 10 points, which marks a career high.

Uniform Choice: F

For the second time in as many seasons, a Thunder home game featured a uniform mishap. Both the Thunder and Grizzlies entered the court wearing their white-colored uniforms. The game entered a delay as the Grizzlies went back to their locker room and changed to their blue uniforms.

Bazley said that he was surprised when he saw that the Grizzlies were also wearing white and opinionated that they should get their stuff together in a lighthearted way.

This went viral on social media and will probably be one of the two things that will be remembered most from this March regular season game with the other being Steven Adams’ return to play in front of the Oklahoma City crowd for the first time in over two years.

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