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After a week's wait, the Oklahoma City Thunder discovered they will face the Memphis Grizzlies in their Round 1 series. After the play-in tournament concluded, the 2025 NBA playoffs are set to go.
The first-seeded Thunder will enter as a heavy favorite to beat the eighth-seeded Grizzlies. The former enjoyed the week off and will be well-rested for Sunday's Game 1. Meanwhile, the latter survived an elimination game with a blowout win over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
The Thunder will hope Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren could lead them to another playoff series win. Meanwhile, Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane will be Memphis' counterpunch to OKC's trio.
In their season series, the Thunder took all four meetings against the Grizzlies. Let's look back at all four contests as they prepare to battle it out in the 2025 NBA playoffs:
Dec. 29, 2024: Thunder 130, Grizzlies 106
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In their first matchup, the Thunder cruised to a blowout win over the Grizzlies. That will be a theme in this exercise. The Thunder scored 42 points in the second quarter to make this a lopsided affair. In this game, they were without Holmgren and Alex Caruso.
Gilgeous-Alexander had an easy 35 points on 14-of-19 shooting. The Thunder had six other players score double-digit points. Everybody who logged minutes for OKC contributed to this easy win.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies were without Morant and Zach Edey. Jackson Jr. failed to step up as Memphis' top scorer with 13 points on 3-of-17 shooting.
Stating the obvious, but this shows Morant must remain healthy if the Grizzlies want to serve one of the biggest upsets in NBA history. That's something he's struggled with for years with injuries and suspensions. If he misses any time in this series, Memphis don't have enough scorers to overcome his absence.
A full recap can be read here.
Feb. 8, 2025: Thunder 125, Grizzlies 112
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In a season filled with resume wins, this one is up there. Just to rattle some memories, this was the second night of a home-and-road back-to-back for the Thunder. The night before was Holmgren's return from a three-month absence caused by a hip fracture.
This had a scheduled loss written all over it. But as you know by now, that's been a foreign concept for OKC this year. Gilgeous-Alexander dominated the Grizzlies again with 32 points. He wasn't as efficient as he usually is with an 8-of-26 shooting performance, but his teammates picked up the slack. Williams had 25 points and Aaron Wiggins had 26 points.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies were fully healthy this time. Despite that, Morant had 16 points on 6-of-19 shooting, Jackson Jr. had 19 points and Bane finished with 20 points. Edey only played 13 minutes before he was taken off the floor.
This was a chance for the Grizzlies to send the Thunder, but they didn't. Instead, OKC buckled down and won by a comfortable margin despite being at a rest and man disadvantage.
A full recap can be read here.
Mar. 5, 2025: Thunder 120, Grizzlies 103
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No Jackson Jr. meant easy paint points for the Thunder. Gilgeous-Alexander took full advantage with his best game against the Grizzlies this season. A lot of what's been said can be copied and pasted here. OKC dominated against Memphis again and led for most of the game. The final result was never really in jeopardy.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 41 points on 14-of-25 shooting. He went a perfect 10-of-10 on free throws. Meanwhile, Williams had 20 points and nine assists. Hartenstein and Wiggins were also top contributors to this win. This was also another game where Holmgren and Caruso were out.
Meanwhile, Morant had 24 points on 8-of-22 shooting. Nobody else on the Grizzlies did anything notable, as it was another poor outside shooting night. Memphis has struggled to score buckets against OKC all season.
A full recap can be read here.
Mar. 27, 2025: Thunder 125, Grizzlies 104
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Another blowout win for the Thunder. This time, it might've been the most demoralizing of the bunch. This lopsided contest ended Jenkins' time as the Grizzlies' head coach. He was fired the next morning. All four of these games followed a similar script with small tweaks.
Gilgeous-Alexander had an easy 37 points on 15-of-25 shooting. Williams had 20 points and Hartenstein had an 18-point double-double. This was also the first time Holmgren played against the Grizzlies this season.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies were once again without Morant. Jackson Jr. had 27 points on 9-of-21 shooting, but the rest of the squad didn't do much in this blowout. Bane had one of his worst games this season with just three points on 1-of-12 shooting.
Not much can be taken away except that the Grizzlies are in a bad spot if Morant misses time. He played through a brutal ankle injury that required injections in the play-in tournament. It'll be worth monitoring how he looks in the aftermath of that.
A full recap can be read here.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Looking back at the 4 games between Thunder, Grizzlies before playoffs
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