Thunder beat Grizzlies 131-80 in Game 1

NBA

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Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein, left, and forward Jalen Williams (8) react after a dunk by Williams during the first half in Game 1 of an NBA first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzles, Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Oklahoma City. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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OKLAHOMA CITY >> The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies 131-80 in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series on Sunday, the fifth-biggest margin of victory in NBA postseason history.

The 51-point margin was seven points shy of the record and was the largest Game 1 win in NBA playoff history.

Aaron Wiggins scored 21 points, Jalen Williams scored 20 points and Chet Holmgren had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league’s scoring champion with nearly 33 points per game, scored just 15. The Thunder still shot 50.5% from the field.

“We played to our identity,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Nothing more, nothing less than that. We were who we were all year ... and it’s going to be the key to our success, just staying true to who we are.”

Gilgeous-Alexander had said several times since Oklahoma City’s loss to Dallas in last season’s Western Conference semifinals that he would be intentional about getting his teammates better prepared for this postseason.

So far, so good.

“I have a great group of guys around me, and I know that,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And I’ve known that for a long time. ... They obviously played amazing.”

There have been two 58-point playoff margins in NBA history: Denver beating New Orleans 121-63 in 2009 and the Minneapolis Lakers beating the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 in 1956. The Los Angeles Lakers beat Golden State by 56 (126-70) in 1973 and the Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks by 54 (120-66) in 2015.

Ja Morant scored 17 points for Memphis on just 6-for-17 shooting. Jaren Jackson Jr., who averaged just over 22 points in the regular season, scored four points on 2-for-13 shooting. The Grizzlies shot just 34.4% overall.

The Thunder, who finished the regular-season with a league-best 68-14 record, took control with a 20-0 run that gave them a 55-22 lead in the second quarter. They took a 35-point lead into halftime.

Cavaliers 121, Heat 100 >> Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Ty Jerome had 16 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat 121-100 on Sunday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

It was the seventh straight series where Mitchell has scored at least 30 points in Game 1, tying Michael Jordan, who had two streaks of seven games.

Bam Adebayo had 24 points and Tyler Herro added 21 for the Heat. They are the first No. 10 seed to advance to the playoffs out of the Play-In Tournament.

Darius Garland added 27 for the Cavaliers, who host Game 2 on Wednesday night. Garland and Jerome each had five 3-pointers for Cleveland, and the Cavaliers were 18 of 43 from beyond the arc.

Cleveland had a 16-point lead midway through the second quarter, but Miami steadily cut it down and got to 98-90 with 7:26 remaining in the fourth. Cleveland put it out reach though with a 13-4 run that included 10 straight points by Jerome, who was taking part in his first playoff game.