The Thunder dropped their second straight game, 124-119, to the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday night.
Danilo Gallinari hit a three with 4:54 remaining in the 2nd quarter to give Oklahoma City their largest lead at 54-39 but were outscored by the Grizzlies 13-5 to close the half.
With the loss, the Thunder finish the preseason 2-2.
Devon Hall came off the bench to lead the Thunder with 19 points. Four other players were in double-digits. Both Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Mike Muscala scored 17, while Danilo Gallinari had 16. Steven Adams chipped in 12 in 25 minutes.
A game after shooting less than 15% from three, Oklahoma City hit 41.7% of its three-point attempts, connecting on 15-of-37. OKC shot 46.6% from the field and made 22-of-27 from the free-throw line.
Memphis outrebounded the Thunder, 49-48, and had dished out more assists, 23-21. The Grizzlies forced Oklahoma City into 17 turnovers and held OKC to just 44 points in the paint.
Chris Paul has held out of his second straight game, a coach’s decision for Paul to get rest.
Billy Donovan told Erik Horne of The Oklahoman that he’s resting Paul to prepare for the regular season, which begins Oct. 23 against the Utah Jazz.
“He knows what he has to do to get ready, where he needs to be physically when we start (the regular season).”
Terrance Ferguson did not play Wednesday night, as he was reportedly in a car accident on the way to the arena. Horne tweeted that Ferguson was in the locker room during pregame and seemed okay.
Andre Roberson also did not play. He did not see any action during the preseason and Donovan told reporters that he didn’t know “when he’ll (Roberson) be available to play”.
The Thunder will start the regular season on Wednesday Oct. 23 at the Utah Jazz. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. CT.
