The Thunder were favored to protect their home court in Game 1 against the Grizzlies, but not in this fashion. OKC put forth one of the greatest displays of dominance in NBA playoff history. They defeated the Grizzlies by a score of 131-80. NBA analyst Skip Bayless singled out Draymond Green and Paul Pierce for their anti-Thunder takes following OKC’s dominant victory.
To put OKC’s emphatic win in context, it is the fifth-largest margin of victory in NBA history at 51 points. The Nuggets hold the record at 58 points, which came in 2009 against the New Orleans Hornets. The Thunder followed up their regular-season assault on the league with a statement performance in their first postseason game.
Leading into the playoffs, many have spoken regarding OKC’s status as contenders. Four-time NBA champion Draymond Green proclaimed the Thunder don’t strike fear in their opponents. Celtics legend Paul Pierce sang the same tune. Both pointed out how their lack of post-season experience doesn’t worry the seasoned challengers. Their takes aged extremely after OKC’s Game 1 victory, and Bayless took the time to remind them.
Bayless went on X to share a post regarding the Thunder’s historic win. Following OKC putting forth the largest margin of victory in a Game 1 win, he mocked Green and Pierce’s comments about the Thunder.
“Draymond Green says nobody’s afraid of the Thunder,” Bayless said. “Paul Pierce says nobody’s afraid of the Thunder. Who knows? Maybe the Grizzlies still aren’t afraid of the Thunder … Even though they obliterated the all-time record for margin of victory and they’re now up 50.”
Green and Pierce may believe teams aren’t worried about the Thunder, but they should be after this performance. Before this win, only five other times in NBA history has a team won a playoff game by 50 points. This level of dominance isn’t common.
OKC didn’t end up obliterating the all-time largest margin of victory like Bayless predicted. A large reason is due to the Thunder sitting their starting lineup midway through the third quarter, and for the entirety of the fourth quarter. Jalen Williams played the most minutes out of their starting five at only 26 minutes.
Impressively, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander only played 23 minutes and struggled to find his rhythm on offense. Memphis had the luxury of facing the Thunder while SGA struggled from the field. They still lost but 51 points. The odds suggest Shai won’t have a performance this bad again.
If the Thunder didn’t strike fear in teams before this display of dominance, they certainly do now. However, if people such as Green and Pierce still hang on to this belief, they will end up learning the hard way.
