The Western Conference’s top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder should have lost on Thursday night. Leading the first-round series 2-0 against the Memphis Grizzlies, OKC trailed by 11 points after the first quarter. By halftime, it was a 26-point deficit. Memphis led by as many as 29 points at one point.
Then Ja Morant went down with a hip injury. Then the Grizzlies gave up the second-largest comeback rally in NBA Playoff history. OKC didn’t even lead until the fourth quarter. It wasn’t until the closing minutes that the Thunder got over the hump and buried Memphis for good. The final score was 114-108 in favor of OKC, which now leads the series 3-0. Postseason losses don’t get more crushing than what happened in Memphis last night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his best game of the series yet with 31 points, eight assists, and four rebounds. SGA’s shooting efficiency wasn’t great again, though, with just a 10-26 clip for the game. The MVP frontrunner is now shooting just 35.3 percent from the field and 25 percent from deep through three contests. Cason Wallace chipped in five points, five rebounds, and three assists in his 24 minutes.
Scotty Pippen Jr. came in to replace Morant, who landed hard on his hip late in the first half, and did well with his 28-point outing. But the momentum of this game shifted severely once Morant left the game — OKC (which won the first two games by a combined 70 points, second-most in playoff history) took full advantage of it. That’s a tough one to lose for the Grizz, one that effectively ends the series. No team in NBA Playoff history has ever overcome a 3-0 series hole. Don’t expect that to change in this series.
Game 4 in Memphis is set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on TNT.
Karl-Anthony Towns shows out, Knicks go up 2-1
Karl-Anthony Towns had two okay — but far from great — games to start the New York Knicks series against the feel-good Detroit Pistons. He went for a respectable 23 points and 11 rebounds in a Game 1 win, but fell flat with just 10 points in a bad Game 2 defeat. Towns was at his best for Game 3 on the road, though. The former Kentucky big man posted 31 points (10-18 FG; 4-8 3PT) and eight rebounds last night as the Knicks won a 118-116 thriller to take a 2-1 series lead.
11 of Towns’ 31 points came in the first quarter. Jalen Brunson, who was named NBA Clutch Player of the Year, lived up to that title in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of his 30 in the final period. Game 4 in Detroit is scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
Karl-Anthony Towns tonight
31 points
8 rebounds
2 blocks
10-18 FG
4-8 3PBig purr
pic.twitter.com/wWXQAnWalA— Teg
(@IQfor3) April 25, 2025
Murray, Nuggets lay an egg in Game 3
After two highly entertaining games to begin this series, we finally had a dub on Thursday night. The Los Angeles Clippers led wire-to-wire in a dominating 117-83 Game 3 win over the Denver Nuggets to take a 2-1 series lead. Kawhi Leonard dropped 21 points and 11 rebounds in the win for the home team. This game was over after the first quarter.
Nikola Jokic still did his thing, posting another triple-double consisting of 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists — his second triple-double in three games of this series. Meanwhile, Jamal Murray added 23 points and four rebounds on 8-15 shooting for the Nuggets. There’s not much else to say about this one. Game 4 in LA will begin Saturday at 6:00 p.m. ET on TNT.
BBNBA stats 4/24/25
| Player | Score | PTS | FG (3PT) | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | +/- | MIN |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK) | 118-116 W @ DET | 31 | 10-18 (4-8) | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 41 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) | 114-108 W @ MEM | 31 | 10-26 (2-7) | 4 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 40 |
| Jamal Murray (DEN) | 117-83 L @ LAC | 23 | 8-15 (1-4) | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -15 | 36 |
| Cason Wallace (OKC) | 114-108 W @ MEM | 5 | 2-4 (1-3) | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
Tonight in the NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference First Round | Game 3 | BOS leads 2-0
7:00 PM ET (ESPN): (2) Celtics @ (7) Magic
Eastern Conference First Round | Game 3 | IND leads 2-0
8:00 PM ET (ESPNU/NBA TV): (4) Pacers (Jackson: out) @ (5) Bucks (Livingston)
Western Conference First Round | Game 3 | Tied 1-1
9:30 PM ET (ESPN): (3) Lakers (Vanderbilt) @ (6) Timberwolves (Dillingham, Randle)
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