How the Thunder pulled off historic NBA playoff comeback vs. Grizzlies to take 3-0 series lead

The Oklahoma City Thunder just pulled off one of the biggest comeback wins in NBA playoff history. The West’s No. 1 seed fell behind by as many as 29 points against the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 3 of their first-round series Thursday night. But by midway through the third quarter the Thunder cut the lead to single digits, tied it up in the fourth and then took the lead with 80 seconds left and held on for a wild 114-108 win in Memphis.

The 29-point comeback is the second largest in NBA playoff history in the play-by-play era (since 1997) and the 26-point halftime comeback is the largest ever in NBA playoff history.

There is a caveat here: the Grizzlies lost Ja Morant at halftime, after the star guard took an incredibly hard fall in the closing seconds of the second quarter. He was ruled out of the game at the start of the third quarter, and it significantly impacted the game for Memphis. But we’ve got to give credit where it’s due. The Thunder put on an absolute clinic on both ends of the floor in the second half to pull out this win to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

So let’s take a look at how the Thunder pulled this off, and showed us exactly why they’re the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Chet Holmgren’s had a near-perfect third quarter

Through two quarters the Thunder — who won Game 1 of this series by 51 points — looked asleep. They weren’t pressuring the ball, allowed Memphis to get off easy looks from just about everywhere and could not get into any sort of rhythm offensively. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams were doing their best to keep it competitive, but it wasn’t nearly enough against a Memphis team that saw Scotty Pippen Jr. score 23 first-half points. 

Then the third quarter started. OKC opened the third frame of action on a 20-7 run, with Chet Holmgren coming alive during that span. He hit three triples, the last of which forced the Grizzlies to call a timeout to stop the bleeding. By that point though, the Thunder had cut what was a 26-point halftime deficit into just a 13-point hole.

“It wasn’t pretty, they hit us first,” Holmgren said after the game, and he and the Thunder made sure to come out in the third quarter swinging back with full force. Sixteen of Holmgren’s 23 points came in the third quarter.

What’s wild is that most of Holmgren’s shots came off wide-open looks. He either took advantage of rookie big man Zach Edey guarding him, and used off-ball screens to get open at the 3-point line:

… or was just left open due to the Grizzlies trying to double Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams:

… and then there were the times where Holmgren was just flat out left open:

He’s a matchup nightmare for the Grizzlies honestly, because Edey is too slow to guard Holmgren on the perimeter, and Jaren Jackson Jr. got burned a couple times on Holmgren drives to the rim. He’s the real difference maker for OKC in the playoffs, and Thursday night showed that.

Alex Caruso was a defensive menace

Let’s rewind the clock a bit, back to when the Thunder made the offseason trade to acquire Alex Caruso from the Chicago Bulls for Josh Giddey. OKC was coming off a disappointing second-round playoff exit after finishing the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the West, and wasted no time in getting one of the most sought-after role players in the league in Caruso. And all it cost was Giddey, who got hunted mercilessly in that second-round loss against the Mavericks in 2024.

The Thunder turned their only weakness in replacing Giddey with one of the best defensive players in the league. On Thursday, when OKC needed it most, Caruso came up clutch on the defensive side of the ball. 

On one possession Caruso got matched up with Jaren Jackson Jr. in the low post. Jackson was calling for the ball in what he thought was a mismatch, and rightfully so (he’s got about five inches on Caruso). But what Caruso lacks in size he makes up for with high IQ. Jackson got the ball on the wing, tried to dribble into Caruso’s chest, and as he turned to try and get a shot off — and flail for a foul call — Caruso timed it up perfectly to slap the ball out of Jackson’s hands.

With just under a minute left, Caruso again came up with a massive steal, this time on Scotty Pippen Jr. who was trying to get a shot off from 3-point range. Caruso was late on the closeout, but thanks to a bad pass from Desmond Bane to Pippen, it gave Caruso just enough time to pressure Pippen. Caruso wasted no time in trying to go for the steal, which he succeeded at, and it led to a jump ball. 

This is why you trade for Caruso. He would not let the Thunder lose this game late in the fourth quarter, and it wasn’t just on defense, either. He had the assist to Holmgren on the 3-pointer that tied the game late in the fourth quarter. And his transition layup with 20 seconds left put the game out of reach for OKC. He finished with 10 points, six rebounds, four steals, three assists and one block, so basically the typical Alex Caruso experience. He’s going to do a little bit of everything for you, and in Game 3, he was the X-factor down the stretch for the Thunder.

Morant’s injury certainly played a role

As great as the Thunder were, it’s fair to wonder how this game would’ve played out had Morant not gotten injured. The Grizzlies are just a vastly different team with Morant on the floor, and that was clear as day between the first and second half. The Grizzlies were playing fast and loose in the first quarter, flying around the court with Morant generating tons of open looks off drive-and-kickouts. Pippen Jr.’s performance in the first half certainly helped matters, but Morant’s 15 points and five assists played a significant role in Memphis working up a 26-point halftime lead.

But when the second half started, the Grizzlies just couldn’t generate easy looks for anyone. That was in part because of the Thunder’s increased ball pressure, but not having Morant out there as the primary creator significantly hurt Memphis. Pippen and Desmond Bane tried their best, but when the Thunder have so many versatile defensive wings to throw at those guys, it results in stagnant offensive possessions.

We’ll have to see Morant’s status going forward, and you hope he’ll be OK enough to go on Saturday, but losing him Thursday night was a major gut punch for Memphis.