The Memphis Grizzlies dominated the Dallas Mavericks in the play-in on Friday, only to get blown out in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Even with Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander putting up his lowest scoring output of the season (15 points), Oklahoma City nonetheless cruised to a 131–80 victory, securing a 32-point lead at the half that turned into a 51-point advantage by the end. The two teams traded the lead back and forth for the first six minutes of the game, but once the Thunder ran away, Memphis never got it back again.
The Grizzlies now have at least three chances to right the ship, but must first brush off the sting of this massive defeat, which left what felt like every NBA fan totally speechless.
Take a look at some of those reactions, which poured in throughout the game, below:
Grizzlies players could’ve just enjoyed their vacation + kept their lottery pick pic.twitter.com/ItRbswgXLN
— ᴅ ʀ ᴇ ᴡ (@FeelLikeDrew) April 20, 2025
We don’t need a Thunder-Grizzlies game 2
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) April 20, 2025
Grizzlies soon as game 1 tipped off
pic.twitter.com/n7MG4z5NJB— Le5-6 (@deepyy_) April 20, 2025
Marvin Bagley hits a huge 3 pointer from 3/4 court at the 3rd quarter buzzer to get Grizzlies to within 49 points. pic.twitter.com/jBZfktEdqc
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) April 20, 2025
Grizzlies: we have a lot of tall guys so we should be OK in the paint
OKC Thunder: pic.twitter.com/vuYWMSCJgZ
— At The Buzzer (@AtTheBuzzer1) April 20, 2025
The Grizzlies just rage quit… pic.twitter.com/iqnuGDbmy7
— Overtime (@overtime) April 20, 2025
Memphis should be fined by the league for this lack of effort.
— Wosny Lambre (@BigWos) April 20, 2025
all the grizzlies have to do is go on a 45-0 nothing run and they’ll only be down by two points
time to lock in
— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) April 20, 2025
I’d rather not make the playoffs than get destroyed like this.
Memphis would have kept its first round pick in what is a good draft class, had they missed the playoffs. It was only top 14 protected.
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) April 20, 2025
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) April 20, 2025
Thunder vs Grizzlies pic.twitter.com/niCzrcxXDI
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) April 20, 2025
OKC 50 PTS lead 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/YOjfCarlLY
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 20, 2025
There should be a rule that if you can win Game 1 by 50 the series is automatically over. Would make blow outs exciting
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) April 20, 2025
This game happened three years ago.
It took less than a presidential term for OKC to go from a doormat to one of the most dominant teams in league history. pic.twitter.com/Bk4ygrjy0A
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) April 20, 2025
Tip-off for Game 2 is slated for Tuesday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
