(Los Angeles) The Memphis Grizzlies crushed the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday with a 73-point lead (152-79), the largest in NBA history.
The Grizzlies also become the first team to win an NBA game with a more than 70 point advantage. The previous record was a 68-point (148-80) gap the Cleveland Cavaliers achieved against the Miami Heat on December 17, 1991.
American Jaren Jackson led the assault with 27 points, helped by strong Spanish winger Santi Aldama, author of 18 points and 10 rebounds. In total, six Grizzlies players scored more than ten points, ahead of the over 18,000 thrilled spectators at FedExForum in Memphis.
The Grizzlies were up to 78 points in the game, the biggest gap in the NBA since the 1996-97 season.
It is the third straight win for the Grizzlies, despite star Ja Morant’s injury absence.
“We knew what we had to do in his absence: we had to go,” commented full-back De’Anthony Melton. “It feels good to be in the history books, especially in front of your own audience.”
As for the Thunder, their new record for the most heavily beaten in the NBA comes on top of the equally inglorious one for the heaviest gap in score suffered at home (57 points, in May against the Indiana Pacers) .
“Last night we weren’t necessarily ourselves,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. “This is not indicative of what our team is”.