Oklahoma City Thunder vs Memphis Grizzlies Match Player Stats On Dec 09, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 10, 2017

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Russell Westbrook completed another triple double, just in time to give the Oklahoma City Thunder a much-needed road victory, 102-101 in overtime, against the free-falling Memphis Grizzlies Saturday night at FedEx Forum.

Westbrook, who shot a miserable 7 of 29 from the field, had the ball in his hands with his team down 101-100 in the final eight seconds. And Russell did what Russell does. He blew by the defense, drew the contact and hit both free throws to give the Thunder the lead. It gave him 20 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for the night.

Tyreke Evans, who led the Grizzlies with 29 points, including a 3-pointer to give them a 101-98 lead, pulled up for a wild last-second shot. It appeared he was spun around by contact from Carmelo Anthony and Andre Roberson, but no foul was called.

Anthony was 7-of-20 from the field, but finished the night with 21 points. Stephen Adams, whose inside game triggered the Thunder comeback in the second and third quarters, had 21 points and nine rebounds while Alex Abrines added 20 points, going 6-for-8 from 3-point range as the Thunder won on the road for only the third time in 13 tries this season.

Marc Gasol added 22 points, six rebounds and six assists for Memphis, which had rolled to a 50-30 lead midway through the second quarter. Ben McLemore had a 5-for-7 night from beyond the arc and chipped in 17 off the bench while rookie Dillon Brooks scored 13 points, including a pair of 3s. But late in the fourth quarter, Gasol and Evans were both 1-of-2 in key free throw situations. And with 8.8 seconds left in overtime JaMychal Greeen missed a pair of free throws, opening the door to the Thunder.

The Thunder, on the second leg of their Mexico-to-Memphis road trip, played without Paul George (calf injury) for a second straight game. And the other two members of this latest "Big Three" struggled for much of the first half. Westbrook had 12 points, but shot 4-for-13 from the field. Anthony, mired in a four-game cold spell, shot 3 of 11, and OKC shot just 32.6 percent from the field.

NOTES: F Paul George missed a second straight game for Oklahoma City with a calf injury after going through warm-ups Saturday. F Jerami Grant (hip contusion) was given the green light to play. ... The Grizzlies were without PG Mike Conley (Achilles), G/F Wayne Selden (quad), C Brandan Wright (groin) and F Chandler Parsons (rest). ... Memphis has been in free fall since a 5-1 start, losing 16 of 19 and going 1-12 without Conley in the lineup ... Memphis interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff filled out his staff by hiring former Grizzlies player Greg Buckner. The two coached together from 2014-16 in Houston. ... Oklahoma City returns home to face Charlotte on Monday, while the Grizzlies finish a three-game homestand Monday versus Miami. Memphis has another home back-to-back next week, facing Atlanta on Friday and Boston Saturday at FedEx Forum.