December 2nd, 2021 is a night that the Memphis Grizzlies and their fans will remember forever. Normally, a game in early December wouldn’t be one that many NBA fans pay attention to, but what the Grizzlies did to the Oklahoma City Thunder drew attention from basketball fans no matter where they were located.
The Grizzlies put a beatdown on the Thunder that has never been seen before in an NBA regular-season game. They won the game 152-79, setting multiple records along the way.
The margin of victory, 73 points, is the largest margin of victory in NBA history. The previous mark was held by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who defeated the Miami Heat 148-80 on December 27th, 1991.
With 3:02 remaining in the game, the Memphis Grizzlies set their franchise record for points in a game. John Konchar got a steal and threw down a dunk that gave Memphis a 145-67 lead and his teammates went crazy on the bench.
“At that moment, I didn’t know it was a franchise record,” Konchar said. “I just kind of saw the lane, and I dunked it. But it’s awesome.”
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The 78-point lead was the largest that Memphis held in the game. That is the largest lead since at least the 1996-97 season when that was something that began to be tracked.
Embarrassing margins of defeat aren’t anything new for the Thunder. They trailed by as many as 67 points in a game against the Indiana Pacers last season. They were able to avoid the record last year, cutting into the lead and losing by 57, 152-95.
The game against the Pacers was the largest home loss in NBA history. Now, the Oklahoma City Thunder own the largest road loss and the worst overall loss in the history of the league.
Memphis played all 12 guys on the roster with nine of them scoring in double-figures. Jaren Jackson Jr. led the way with 27 points in only 20 minutes, as no starter played more than 21 minutes. Santi Aldana had a team-high +56 plus/minus ratio in his 28 minutes off the bench, scoring 18 points with 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block.
The Grizzlies set a team record for shooting percentage as well, knocking down 62.5 percent of their shot attempts, going 60-for-96. They made their 3-pointers at a 52.8 percent clip, knocking down 19-of-36 attempts.
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This was the third consecutive game that the Memphis Grizzlies have led wire-to-wire. They are playing some great basketball and it is even more impressive when you take into account that they are without their star point guard Ja Morant, who is sidelined with a knee injury.
