Western Conference leaders the Oklahoma City Thunder will be aiming to take a 2-0 series lead in the sophomore instalment of their playoff first-round matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
The home side were emphatic in Sunday evening's opening clash, where they left the visitors in their wake en route to a 131-80 triumph at the PayCom Center.
Match preview
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Having clinched the number one seed in the West for the second season running, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been fancied to make a deep playoff run and possibly go all the way after a disappointing second-round exit to the Dallas Mavericks last time out.
Mark Daigneault's men headed into their playoff curtain-raiser against the Memphis Grizzlies aiming to lay down an early marker, something they did in grand style with a stunning display at both ends of the court.
The Thunder were on fire right from the first whistle and went into the interval with a whopping 32-point lead, which was further extended by 19 via another dominant display in the second half, holding their opponents to just 44 points.
All these happened despite talisman Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tallying just 15 points on 4-13 shooting as Aaron Wiggins, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren took control of proceedings, combining for 60 points.
That was a ninth straight victory for the Thunder in this fixture, and you would not bet against them making it 10 based on the evidence of last weekend's thrashing—the biggest Game One triumph in NBA playoff history.
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After ending the last campaign in eighth place, the Grizzlies needed to navigate the Play-In tournament for a place in the postseason and were first beaten by the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday in the battle for the seventh seed before seeing off the Dallas Mavericks three days later to clinch the eighth spot.
Taking to the court for the third time in just over five days, Tuomas Iisalo's men were always in danger of being blown away by a team in flying form like the Thunder, who had a seven-day turnover since their regular-season finale against the New Orleans Pelicans.
For a team that scored the second most points last season, the Grizzlies' 80-point tally in Game One was their fewest in an NBA match since March 2018, when they were comprehensively beaten 140-79 by the Charlotte Hornets.
Knocking down all eight of his field-goal attempts and scoring a team-high 17 points alongside Ja Morant, Marvin Bagley III is perhaps the only Grizzlies player who can come away with his head held high, unlike Desmond Bane, who had a horrendous +/- score of -51.
Iisalo will hope the majority of his side's struggles last time out were down to fatigue as the Grizzlies look to avoid going 2-0 down before returning to the FedExForum for two huge games on Friday and Saturday.
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Team News
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Ousmane Dieng was unavailable for the Thunder on Sunday due to a calf problem that has kept him out since mid-March, making the Frenchman a doubt to feature here.
Nikola Topic is ruled out for the rest of the campaign with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but Alex Ducas is now back in contention despite not playing any part last time out.
Isaiah Hartenstein marked his playoff debut for the home side with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists in just 21 minutes and will be looking to deliver the goods once again.
Brandon Clarke (knee) and Jaylen Wells (wrist) are both unavailable for the Grizzlies until next season, while Zyon Pullin is ruled out for Wednesday's encounter due to a knee issue.
Twenty-year-old GG Jackson II was absent from the visitors' embarrassing defeat over the weekend due to personal reasons but could be back to play a part in this one.
Oklahoma City Thunder possible starting five:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort; Williams, Holmgren; Hartenstein
Los Angeles Lakers possible starting five:
Morant, Pippen Jr; Bane, Jackson Jr; Edey
We say: Thunder to win by 13+ points
It is almost impossible for the Grizzlies to perform worse than they did in Game One, so we are expecting a more competitive affair.
Nonetheless, we fully expect the home side to strut to a comfortable victory when all is said and done.
Adepoju Marvellous
