Ja Morant shows why 'it’s a five-man defense against him' in Grizzlies' win vs. Thunder

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Thunder’s three-game winning streak was snapped, as was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s streak of 30-point games.

The Grizzlies beat the Thunder 123-102 on Wednesday night in Memphis.

Gilgeous-Alexander had a team-high 26 points, but hardly any of them came easy.

The free-throw line was his only friend against a tough Grizzlies defense.

SGA shot 17-of-19 from the foul stripe — a career-high in both attempts and makes.

Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins and the Grizzlies were fed up both with the officials, and with Gilgeous-Alexander’s knack for drawing contact.

“I thought those were legitimate calls,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “He was getting hit.

“I thought our whole team, including him … didn’t have the attack that we needed to against the way we were being played. And it wasn’t limited to (Gilgeous-Alexander), but he was certainly a part of it, too. I thought we all were a little bit too sticky.”

When they didn’t foul, the Grizzlies did an admirable job of containing SGA, the third-leading scorer in the NBA.

Gilgeous-Alexander shot 4-of-14 from the field. Getting to 26 points on four made shots was improbable enough. Getting to 30 was asking too much. SGA’s streak of 30-point games ended at seven.

Gilgeous-Alexander was asked to assess his offensive night, balancing the positive of getting to the free throw line with the negative of a 29% shooting line.

“Getting to the free-throw line is a part of the game,” he said, “but I assess it based on field-goal (percentage). Obviously tonight wasn’t my best, but I’ll try to be better the next game.”

More:How did Shai Gilgeous-Alexander grow into an OKC Thunder superstar? Look to July 11, 2019

Inside out

The Thunder, 16 minutes into the game, was 3-of-24 from inside the arc. That’s three 2-point field goals through a quarter and a third.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl made it 4-of-25 with a dunk that cut Memphis’ lead to 34-32.

OKC, despite its frigid start, stuck around for three quarters before getting trounced 29-15 in the fourth.

“We just had a hard time putting two ends of the floor together,” Daigneault said.

The Thunder shot 37% overall, on 37% shooting from three (14-of-38) and 37% shooting from two (20-of-54). The former is a respectable number. The latter is not.

The offenses of OKC and Memphis are similar in how and where they attack. Both are led by superstar guards who relentlessly drive to the rim. It’s why the Grizzlies and Thunder rank second and third in paint points per game.

But the points in the paint battle was a lopsided 62-38 in favor of the Grizzlies. Memphis shot 65% in the paint compared to the Thunder’s 42%.

Daigneault said the Grizzlies are a team that sells out to guard the paint “by any means necessary.”

“Against those teams you’ve gotta use the pass,” he said. “I thought in the third quarter when we did that, that’s the type of attack we could’ve had. Certainly didn’t do it consistently enough tonight.”

The two teams were an identical 14-of-38 from behind the arc. The paint points were the difference.

“We spoke about it at halftime,” Thunder guard Josh Giddey said. “We were 9-of-27 (in the paint) in the first half. You can’t win games doing that.”

More:Thunder gets 'good gut check' as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads OKC past Atlanta Hawks

Ja Morant makes history

Thunder guard Lu Dort (left knee contusion) was out.

“Woke up pretty sore,” Daigneault said. “He went through some light shooting and couldn’t really improve it very much. It kind of sprung up on us.”

That meant somebody else was going to have to guard Memphis fireball Ja Morant.

Rookie Jalen Williams handled the bulk of the assignment. Gilgeous-Alexander and Aaron Wiggins also had their turns.

But for the most part it was defense-by-committee.

“With Morant’s speed and how dynamic he is in the paint, it’s a five-man defense against him,” Daigneault said.

Morant didn’t have a monster scoring game, but he was well-rounded in the win with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. He shot 8-of-16 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the foul line.

It was Morant’s sixth-career triple-double. He passed Marc Gasol for the most triple-doubles in Grizzlies history.

Russell Westbrook made triple-doubles seem ordinary in Oklahoma City. Josh Giddey, too. Giddey already has five triple-doubles, one behind Morant.

Giddey had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday.

More:Why isn't Aaron Wiggins playing more for OKC Thunder? 'He’s always ready'

Heading home

The Thunder is three games into its season-long five-game road trip, but the team flew home from Memphis on Wednesday night for a one-night stay in OKC.

After a short rest at home, the team will fly to Cleveland on Friday ahead of its game Saturday night against the Cavaliers.

Heading home in the middle of a road trip isn’t normal, but with a short flight from Memphis to Oklahoma City and a two-day break between games, it made sense.

“It would’ve been a long run,” Daigneault said. “Two nights off on the road at this point in the trip … you start seeing stars.

“Just get home, reset, do some laundry, hopefully, and then hit it for Cleveland and Dallas.”

More:How Aleksej Pokusevski's perseverance, OKC Thunder's patience has paid off

Thunder tip-ins

• Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren underwent a successful procedure Tuesday to remove hardware in his right foot from his initial Lisfranc procedure, the Thunder announced. Both surgeries were performed by Dr. David Porter in Carmel, Indiana. The planned follow-up procedure marks a step in Holmgren’s recovery, but his timeline to return is unchanged. He’ll miss the entire season.

• Kenrich Williams (right knee sprain) missed his second straight game.

• Ousmane Dieng, who played in the Thunder’s last five games, was sent down to the G League OKC Blue after the Thunder’s game Monday in Atlanta. Daigneault said the plan is for Dieng to stay with the Blue for a little while. Dieng is unlikely to make the upcoming trips to Cleveland and Dallas.

• How’s this for a fun lineup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, Mike Muscala and Eugene Omoruyi. Daigneault went to it in the first and third quarters.

• Dillon Brooks scored 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting. He’s the Grizzlies’ version of Lu Dort — a defense-first Canadian who isn’t afraid to shoot. Brooks is much more brash than Dort, though. And not quite the defender.

• Eugene Omoruyi, back with the Thunder after a two-week stint with the Blue, played 24 minutes off the bench. He had 11 points and five rebounds. “He brings a fire and a toughness,” SGA said. “Any team needs a guy like that.”

• Thunder forward Darius Bazley logged his second straight DNP (coach’s decision). Bazley started 117 games for the Thunder in his first three seasons. He’s yet to make a start this season, and now he’s falling out of the rotation.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder fall to Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies, snap win streak