The Memphis Grizzlies (9-6, 5-1 Home) will try to slow down one of the league’s top scoring teams when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder (7-8, 3-5 Away) on Friday.Oklahoma City narrowly defeated the Washington Wizards 121-120 at Capital One Arena on Wednesday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the standout player with 42 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. The Thunder are the 13th seed in the Western Conference. Memphis lost on Tuesday at Smoothie King Center, falling to the New Orleans Pelicans 113-102. Ja Morant had 36 points and eight rebounds in the losing effort, carrying the team. The Grizzlies are the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
It’s the first meeting of the season between the teams. Memphis won two out of three games between the teams last season, including a 125-118 triumph in their last meeting at Paycom Center on March 13. Desmond Bane led the Grizzlies with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and three blocks in defeat. The Thunder have been led this season by Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging 32.3 points per game, best in the league. Gilgeous-Alexander also has dished 5.9 assists per game, most in the league.
Meanwhile, Josh Giddey is grabbing 7.2 rebounds.Morant has powered the Grizzlies’ offense, averaging 29.3 points per game. He has the top scoring average in the NBA. Morant also has tallied 6.8 assists per game, most in the league. Steven Adams has pulled down 10.9 rebounds per game.
The Thunder are averaging 116.6 points per game, ranking as one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NBA (3rd).The teams have split their last 10 meetings at FedExForum (5-5).Oklahoma City is 5-5 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +0.1 (119.2-119.1). Memphis has also split the last 10 (5-5), scoring 111.0 points per game on average while allowing 109.6 (+1.4 margin).
THUNDER HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Darius Bazley: 2.0 | 12.3 | -10.3
Points per game:
Aleksej Pokusevski: 13.4 | 9.8 | +3.6
Rebounds per game:
Josh Giddey: 9.4 | 7.2 | +2.2
Darius Bazley: 1.0 | 4.7 | -3.7
GRIZZLIES HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Rebounds per game:
Ja Morant: 7.8 | 6.2 | +1.6
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Memphis Grizzlies -6.5 (-105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
