{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
Oklahoma City 125, Memphis 88
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #9 Derrick Stafford, #66 Haywoode Workman
Attendance: 16415

MEMPHIS -- Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan was looking beyond the box score after the Thunder overpowered the Memphis Grizzlies 125-88 Tuesday night at FedExForum.

Forward Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 32 points, but it was guard Russell Westbrook's overall performance -- 13 points, 16 assists -- that impressed the first-year NBA coach. Westbrook played an efficient 25 minutes, making five of seven shots, grabbing five rebounds and committing only three turnovers.

"I can't say enough about what Russell did," Donovan said. "In my opinion, he's one of the rare guys in the league that can dominate a game without scoring.

"What he did tonight -- setting up his teammates, the 16 assists and the unselfishness -- started with him and Kevin."

Westbrook had 12 of his assists by halftime, when the Thunder had surged ahead 59-47 and he added several more in the opening minutes of the third quarter when Oklahoma City pulled away. The 16 assists tied a season high.

"I try to set the table for guys and try to find ways to get everybody going, especially on the road," Westbrook said. "We just kept the pace hot.

"They kind of like to rough you up a little bit. I thought we did a good job of setting the tone on both ends of the floor."

Forward Serge Ibaka added 17 points for the Thunder, who shot 56 percent and had 31 assists on the 47 field goals. They were 13 of 26 from 3-point range.

The Thunder, who needed a late jumper by Durant to beat the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, spent the majority of the game against the Grizzlies with a double-digit lead.

Oklahoma City opened the third quarter with a 20-6 run to build a 79-53 advantage. The visitors led by as many as 37 in the quarter, during which they shot 63 percent. Their lead reached 40 in the fourth quarter. The 125 points were the most allowed by Memphis this season.

"(Grizzlies) coach (Dave Joerger) hit it on the nail," said Grizzlies reserve guard Courtney Lee. "He said they threw a punch at us and we didn't punch back. They went on their run and we didn't respond."

Joerger said the Grizzlies hurt their comeback chances behind a mistake-filled third quarter, one in which they were outscored 39-16 and committed 10 turnovers.

"We turned the ball over way too much in the third quarter," Joerger said. "Just simple passing, dribbling and catching issues.

"And it was a tough night. Some guys had some tough nights."

The Grizzlies got little production from their starters (33 points in 120 minutes). Guard Mike Conley was scoreless, missing all seven of his shots in 22 minutes, including three attempts from beyond the 3-point arc. Center Marc Gasol paced the starters with 11 points, but left the game in the third quarter after spraining his ankle a second time.

Memphis was led by reserve guard Mario Chalmers, who finished with 19 points.

Durant shot three-for-13 and committed 15 turnovers in the previous two games, but he displayed a familiar All-Star form against Grizzlies. He had 19 points at the half and 13 in the third quarter. His 32 points came in 31 minutes.

He did not play the fourth quarter. Ibaka and Westbrook sat out the final period, too.

During the Thunder's 39-point third quarter, Durant made five of six shots and had a four-point play after being fouled on a 27-foot jumper and making the free throw.

"When we play together like that, we make the game easier," Durant said. "We were just playing smooth basketball. It was beautiful to watch. It was a fun game to play."

Durant missed the first meeting with the Grizzlies last month and watched as Memphis scored 43 points in the fourth quarter to win 122-114. On Tuesday in Memphis, his 19 first-half points -- along with 12 assists from Westbrook -- helped the Thunder to a 12-point halftime lead.

Durant and Ibaka went 12-for-17 in the opening half, and the Thunder shot 57.5 percent (23-for-40). The Grizzlies struggled during the same time span, shooting 37.8 percent (17-for-45) and were 1-of-7 from beyond the arc.

The Grizzlies, the worst 3-point shooting team in the Western Conference, finished three-for-14 from long range. Memphis entered the game having gone 13-for-54 from 3-point range in the previous four games.

Memphis hit 40.7 percent from the floor overall Tuesday and was outscored 66-41 in the second half.

"I'm nowhere near happy," Gasol said. "Tonight was tough. A lot of people should have their pride hurt. Everybody. Top to bottom."

NOTES: The Oklahoma City players attended ceremonies Monday night in Memphis honoring G Cameron Payne, their rookie teammate from Murray State. Payne, who attended high school at Lausanne, had his jersey retired. He joins another former Lausanne standout, who had his jersey retired, Grizzlies C Marc Gasol. ... Gasol entered the game averaging 25 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists and shooting 54 percent from the field in his previous three games. ... Thunder G Russell Westbrook's triple-double (19 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) Sunday night against the Kings was the 22nd of his career. He moved past Kobe Bryant into third place on the NBA's active triple-double list.
Top Game Performances
 
Oklahoma City   Memphis
Kevin Durant 32 Scoring Mario Chalmers 19
Russell Westbrook 16 Assists Mike Conley 6
Kevin Durant 10 Rebounds Zach Randolph 10
Kevin Durant 6 Free Throws Made Mario Chalmers 7
Kevin Durant 3 Steals Mario Chalmers 2
Nick Collison 2 Blocks Matt Barnes 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Oklahoma City 125 56.0 13-26 18-23 31 46 3 11 12
Memphis 88 40.7 3-14 19-22 14 33 4 6 16
Upcoming Games
  • Memphis will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .600 after a loss.
  • Oklahoma City will play their next game at home against Atlanta. The Thunder have a W/L % of .692 after a win and .500 after a loss.