Quick Recap: Memphis Grizzlies fall to Thunder in Regular Season finale 115-100

The Memphis Grizzlies entered Game 82 on Sunday afternoon locked into the number two seed in the Western Conference. Meaning? Rest for guys that had fought through a tough, physical season. This also meant that the Grizzlies would roll out an all G-League starting lineup (outside of John Konchar).

Grizzlies on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game 82.

First Quarter:

These are the types of games that you look forward to for a Ziaire Williams, who played a huge role on this roster last season, and even in the playoffs. It’s been a frustrating season for Williams, but with key all of the starters out tonight, it was an opportunity to put the regular season behind him.

Williams came out of the gates really well. Dropping seven first quarter points, and leading Memphis to a 24-20 lead at the end of the first quarter in Oklahoma City. Kenny Lofton Jr., picked up two early fouls, but returned late and got a few buckets. Memphis looked good, could it continue?

Second Quarter:

Williams continued his offensive fury in the first half for the Grizzlies in the second quarter, going off the dribble left to right for a free-throw mid-range jumper. Ziaire then followed that up with back-to-back open right hash three-pointers. Ziaire dropped 18 first half points for the Grizzlies.

Rookie wing, David Roddy had a really good first half as well. Despite missing some dicey shots around the rim, Roddy had 12 points in the first half. Memphis was fighting on both ends of the floor in that first quarter, as a Roddy buzzer-beater is what separated these two teams at the half. Memphis led the Thunder 49-47 at halftime.

Third Quarter:

Can we call the third quarter, the “Kenny Lofton Jr” quarter? Junior put on an absolute show for the short-handed Grizzlies — facilitating out of the post, making hustle plays, but more importantly, showing his offensive arsenal. Lofton dropped 16 points in the third quarter, and played the entire third quarter for Memphis. Unfortunately, the Thunder were shooting the ball better from the three-point line, and scored 38 in the third quarter, as Memphis trailed Oklahoma City 85-73 heading to the fourth.

Fourth Quarter:

The fourth quarter wasn’t pretty for the short-handed Grizzlies. The young Grizzlies trailed for majority of the fourth quarter by double-digits. The Grizzlies rotation was six players, which meant that guys that normally didn’t play, logged 35+ minutes. For example, Vince Williams Jr., logged 47 minutes in today’s game.

Lofton Jr. went on to drop 42 points and 14 rebounds. Memphis would fall to the Thunder 115-100 in game 82. The Grizzlies would end their 2022-23 Regular season with a 51-31 record.

Memphis now will watch the play-in tournament this upcoming week and see who they will play this upcoming Saturday or Sunday.