For a three-minute stretch at the beginning of the third quarter, it looked like Oklahoma City’s fate against the Grizzlies was already decided.
Down 89-65 with 7:10 left in the frame, the Thunder caught fire, closing out the quarter by outscoring Memphis 28-11 to cut the deficit to 100-93 heading into the fourth.
Like they did Monday against the Bulls, the Thunder took back the lead in the final frame, a Dennis Schroder jumper with just over eight minutes to play.
Chris Paul put OKC out in front 122-120 with a minute left to play and it was Schroder on Wednesday night that iced the win, making all four of his free-throw attempts down the stretch.
Per Elias Sports Bureau, the Thunder are the first team in the last 20 seasons to overcome a 24-point deficit in back-to-back games. They are the second team in the last 20 seasons to overcome a 20-point deficit in back-to-back games, joining the Pacers on Jan. 11 and Jan. 13, 2010.
After the game, Billy Donovan gave his team credit for grinding it out despite a tough first half.
“We got a lot of contributions from a lot of different guys. Certainly, the bench was a major factor in us being able to put ourselves in a position to get back in the game. I thought we closed the game well. I thought we got good shots and did some good things down the stretch.”
Oklahoma City’s bench outscored the Grizzlies’ 52-49, with 31 of those bench points for OKC coming from Schroder.
Five other players for the Thunder were in double-digits, Danilo Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander both had 20, Chris Paul scored 18, and Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel added 13 and 10 respectively.
With the win, Oklahoma City improves to 13-14 on the year and 9-5 at home.
The Thunder are back in action on Friday when they host the Phoenix Suns.
