Jalen Williams reveals how Thunder stuck together in 29-point comeback over Grizzlies

04/25/2025 06:59 AM

MEMPHIS — Oklahoma City Thunder All-Stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams combined for 57 points, but revealed that pulling off a historic comeback win against the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 3 was a team effort. The Thunder stormed back from a 29-point deficit to beat the Grizzlies 114-108 and take a 3-0 lead in their first-round series.

After the win, Williams explained the mindset he and his team had heading into the second half, when they trailed by 26.

"You're never too far ahead or too far behind," Williams said. "That's how we went into it and tried to approach it. Credit to them. They were making a lot of shots. But we weren't making them miss. So, I thought we did a good job of just playing defense, kind of sticking with each other, and knowing what has to get done. We were able to do that."

Gilgeous-Alexander scored a team-high 31 points. He also had eight assists. Williams finished with 26 points and five assists, and Chet Holmgren added 24 points and eight rebounds.

"Both Dub and Chet; they're really good NBA players. They're the cream of the crop, for sure. We've seen that all season long. That's why we're the team we are," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Tonight was just another night of them being themselves. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't anything I haven't seen before. They were just two really good basketball players that were doing their jobs on a night in Memphis.

"Now, the stakes were a little bit higher, but to them, they were so level-headed, so poised. They were ready for the moment. They took advantage of it," Gilgeous-Alexander concluded.

Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams admitted that trailing by 29 points isn't ideal, but coming back was certainly doable, as Oklahoma City proved that to be true in the second-largest comeback win in NBA playoff history.

Mark Daigneault on Lu Dort’s foul on Ja Morant in Thunder’s win

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault discussed Lu Dort's foul on Ja Morant after the game. After Morant suffered a hip injury from a collision with Lu Dort, he was ruled out just before halftime.

Daigneault kept it 100 while addressing Morant's injury.

"I never wanna see anybody get hurt. I hope he's OK. But you want everybody to be at full strength," Daigneault said. "He's a great competitor. He was playing great. Obviously, that had something to do with the game as well. It would be wrong for me not to acknowledge that. But I think it was a clean play."

Mark Daigneault addresses Lu Dort's foul on Ja Morant:

"I think it was a clean play. I think everybody was playing hard. It's just unfortunate" pic.twitter.com/8JM1L5YmOR

— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) April 25, 2025

The Thunder will be able to sweep the Grizzlies and advance to the Western Conference semifinals in Game 4 on Saturday.

The post Jalen Williams reveals how Thunder stuck together in 29-point comeback over Grizzlies appeared first on ClutchPoints.