Two years ago, the Thunder set an NBA record after losing by 73 points to the Memphis Grizzlies. That evening was so sad for the Oklahoma City roster, that star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander revealed they promised this would never happen again under their watch.
The Canadian guard did not play that infamous December 2, 2021, but he recalls feeling embarrassed for his teammates. “After that game, we addressed it, and we just made a promise to ourselves to never feel that feeling again,” he said.
This past Thursday night, they were back in breaking-record mode, but this time on the winning side. “I think it’s been a little bit of our fuel to get to where we are tonight,” Shai confessed after his squad defeated the Trail Blazers 139 to 77, a 62-point margin that is now tied for the fifth largest margin of triumph in NBA history.
The Thunder beat the Trail Blazers by 62 😳
Oklahoma City is the 8th team in NBA history to win by 60+ ✅pic.twitter.com/hlJYjMp9k1
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) January 12, 2024
According to Portland coach Chauncey Billups, nothing went well for them this Thursday. “It was almost like a perfect storm, to be honest with you,” he expressed postgame. “Nothing really worked for us.”
What is the NBA record for largest-winning margin? Here is the complete list of the eight-biggest victories in regular-season history:
NBA’s Largest Margin of Victory
73 — Memphis Grizzlies 152, Oklahoma City Thunder 79 (Dec. 2, 2021)
68 — Cleveland Cavaliers 148, Miami Heat 80 (Dec. 17, 1991)
65 — Indiana Pacers 124, Portland Trail Blazers 59 (Feb. 27, 1998)
63 — Los Angeles Lakers 162, Golden State Warriors 99 (March 19, 1972)
62 — Oklahoma City Thunder 139, Portland Trail Blazers 77 (Jan. 11, 2024)
62 — Golden State Warriors 153, Sacramento Kings 91 (Nov. 2, 1991)
62 — Syracuse Nationals 162, New York Knicks 100 (Dec. 25, 1960)
61 — Charlotte Hornets 140, Memphis Grizzlies 79 (March 22, 2018)
Rookie Chet Holmgren explains why his team will be very difficult to stop as the Thunder are now second in the West
First-year center Chet Holmgren, who is the main candidate to conquer the Rookie of the Year award this season, dropped in 19 points during his 20 minutes against the Trail Blazers. At the start of the week, he explained why the Oklahoma City squad will be very difficult to take down this campaign.
“We have great players all around on the floor. Everybody has gravity, so the other team has to decide what they want to give up, and if they don’t want to give up the shot, then they’re giving up the drive to somebody else. If they don’t want to give up the drive, then they’re giving up the shot. It’s just kind of a pick your poison thing,” the big man expressed.
In the video below, check out Thursday’s dominant display which saw them set a new record in the NBA’s biggest wins:
As for his coach Mark Daigneault, he’s convinced the team is only going to get better throughout the season. “What has put us in this position is that we have improved continuously,” the OKC coach said on Wednesday. “We understand it is not perfect andwe learn from the good, the bad. We just rinse and repeat this 82 times.”
Daigneault had special praise reserved for Josh Giddey, who recorded one of the fastest triple-doubles in NBA history last night. “He has got some swagger right now. This is a good example of these guys, there will be a lot of ups and downs for every single player,” he said.
