Trust, faith have Thunder poised for sweep vs. Grizzlies

After showing they can win either ahead of the pack or well off the pace, the Oklahoma City will be out to sweep their first-round Western Conference playoff series on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies when Game 4 takes place Saturday.With Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant not available in the second half of Game 3 due to injury, the Thunder roared back to place themselves one victory away from the second round.Oklahoma City rallied from a 29-point first-half deficit to seize a 114-108 road victory Thursday and a 3-0 series advantage. The Thunder didn’t lead Game 3 until 1:20 to go when Jalen Williams sank a free throw.As Oklahoma City appears poised to complete the sweep, Memphis likely will be without Morant, who came away with a hip contusion injury in the closing minutes of the first half Thursday. He hobbled off the court following a hard fall to the floor and did not return.The Thunder outscored Memphis 63-31 in the second half and completed the largest comeback of the franchise’s Oklahoma City era. Memphis did not score in the final 4:51 of the game and managed only 13 points in the final quarter.”I don’t really know how to process that,” Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama said. “It’s going to take a lot of time.”Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a leading candidate for NBA Most Valuable Player honors, led Oklahoma City with 31 points. Williams scored 26 and Chet Holmgren provided the biggest spark. Holmgren scored 23 of his 24 points in the second half, including five 3-pointers.Playing at home after being overwhelmed by 51 points in Game 1 and 19 points in Game 2, the Grizzlies were a different team from the outset of Game 3. They built a double-digit lead in the opening quarter behind Scotty Pippen Jr., who finished with 28 points.In the second quarter, the Memphis advantage soared to 28 points shortly before Morant was undercut by Lu Dort on a fastbreak dunk attempt.In the second half, the Thunder began their comeback on the strength of Holmgren’s accuracy beyond the arc. He made four of his five 3-pointers in the third quarter, when Oklahoma City outscored Memphis 36-18. The Thunder’s emphatic finishing kick included scoring the game’s final nine points.Despite the huge first-half deficit, the Thunder never lost faith.

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