The Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder have played some close games and some very one-sided ones in the last two seasons. If you searched for the match player stats, you probably want quick answers. Who scored the most? Who grabbed the rebounds? Why did one team win?
This article answers those questions in plain English. All the numbers come from Basketball Reference, Yahoo Sports, and StatMuse, which are trusted stat sites. We start with the closest game, played on January 9, 2026. Then we look at the three games from the 2025-26 season and the 2025 playoff series.
Quick Summary
| Game | Date | Final score | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | Nov 9, 2025 | Thunder 114, Grizzlies 100 | Memphis |
| Regular season | Dec 22, 2025 | Thunder 119, Grizzlies 103 | Oklahoma City |
| Regular season | Jan 9, 2026 | Thunder 117, Grizzlies 116 | Memphis |
The Thunder won all three games listed for the 2025-26 season. The January game was by far the closest, with only one point between the teams.
The January 9, 2026 Game: A One-Point Finish
The game was played at FedExForum in Memphis. Oklahoma City came in with a 32-7 record. Memphis was 16-22. On paper, the Thunder were the better team, but this night was different.
Both teams were missing important players. The Thunder rested or sat out Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Cason Wallace. Memphis played without Ja Morant, Zach Edey, Ty Jerome, and Scotty Pippen Jr. That means many players got bigger roles than usual.
Score by Quarter
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 25 | 21 | 35 | 36 | 117 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 35 | 30 | 29 | 22 | 116 |
Memphis started well and led 65 to 46 at halftime. That is a 19-point lead. But the Thunder scored 71 points in the second half, while Memphis scored only 51. The comeback was built in the third and fourth quarters.
Oklahoma City Thunder Player Stats
| Player | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Field goals | 3-pointers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jalen Williams | 36:16 | 26 | 5 | 10 | 9/18 | 0/3 |
| Ajay Mitchell | 38:01 | 23 | 3 | 6 | 9/18 | 2/6 |
| Kenrich Williams | 28:54 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 8/13 | 3/7 |
| Aaron Wiggins | 31:53 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 7/13 | 1/3 |
| Luguentz Dort | 35:10 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 5/12 | 1/7 |
| Alex Caruso | 23:57 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2/4 | 0/1 |
| Branden Carlson | 15:50 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2/5 | 1/3 |
| Isaiah Joe | 15:33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0/6 | 0/5 |
| Ousmane Dieng | 7:06 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1/1 | 1/1 |
Jalen Williams was the best player in the game by points and assists. He had 26 points and 10 assists, and he made 8 of his 10 free throws. Ajay Mitchell added 23 points. Kenrich Williams came off the bench and scored 21 points in under 29 minutes. He also finished with a plus-14 rating, which means the Thunder outscored Memphis by 14 points while he was on the court.
Luguentz Dort scored only 13 points, but he led all players with 3 steals. Alex Caruso had 2 blocks in his 24 minutes.
Memphis Grizzlies Player Stats
| Player | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Field goals | 3-pointers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | 32:21 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 9/14 | 2/5 |
| GG Jackson II | 21:02 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 7/12 | 3/8 |
| Santi Aldama | 28:47 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 6/9 | 2/4 |
| Jock Landale | 28:15 | 13 | 10 | 2 | 5/7 | 1/3 |
| Cedric Coward | 25:30 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 3/9 | 1/3 |
| Vince Williams Jr. | 22:32 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 4/8 | 3/6 |
| Jaylen Wells | 27:52 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3/13 | 1/6 |
| Cam Spencer | 30:06 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 2/8 | 1/4 |
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 23 points. He shot 9 of 14 from the field, which is very good. GG Jackson II came off the bench and scored 18. Jock Landale had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and 6 of those rebounds were on offense. Cam Spencer led everyone in the game with 11 assists, even though he scored only 7 points.
Not every Memphis player had a good night. Jaylen Wells made only 3 of 13 shots and had 4 turnovers. Memphis was outscored by 16 points when he was on the floor.
Why Memphis Lost Even With More Rebounds and Assists
The Grizzlies did many things well in this game. They won the rebound battle 52 to 36. They had 35 assists to the Thunder’s 24. They also shot better from three, making 14 of 41 (34.1%) while the Thunder made only 9 of 37 (24.3%).
So why did they lose? The box score points to a few reasons:
- Turnovers. Memphis lost the ball 17 times. Oklahoma City had only 6. That gave the Thunder many more chances to score.
- A weak fourth quarter. Memphis scored just 22 points in the last quarter. The team made 8 of 20 shots and only 1 of 7 from three.
- A cold finish for the star player. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 23 points in the first three quarters but had 0 points, 0 of 3 shooting, and 2 turnovers in the fourth.
- A strong Thunder finish. Oklahoma City made 12 of 19 shots in the fourth quarter and scored 36 points. Jalen Williams had 12 of them. Ajay Mitchell and Kenrich Williams each added 9.
The two teams shot almost the same percentage from the field. The Thunder made 47.3% and Memphis made 46.6%. In a game that close, the turnover gap was one of the clearest differences.
The Other Two Games in 2025-26
The earlier games were not close. On November 9, 2025, the Thunder won 114 to 100 in Memphis. The Grizzlies shot only 38.5% from the field in that game and had 14 turnovers.
On December 22, 2025, Oklahoma City won 119 to 103 at home. Memphis shot 41.0% and turned the ball over 23 times, which was its worst number of the three games. Looking at all three games, the Grizzlies had their best shooting night (46.6%) in the January game, and that was also the one they almost won.
Over the full season, the Thunder finished 64-18 and took the top spot in the Western Conference. Memphis finished 25-57, which was 13th in the West. These numbers come from StatMuse’s end-of-season standings.
The 2025 Playoffs: Thunder Sweep the Grizzlies
The two teams also met in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. Oklahoma City was the number 1 seed and Memphis was number 8. The Thunder won the series 4 to 0, and they went on to win the NBA championship that year.
| Game | Date | Final score | Top scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Apr 20, 2025 | Thunder 131, Grizzlies 80 | Aaron Wiggins, 21 |
| Game 2 | Apr 22, 2025 | Thunder 118, Grizzlies 99 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 27 |
| Game 3 | Apr 24, 2025 | Thunder 114, Grizzlies 108 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 31 |
| Game 4 | Apr 26, 2025 | Thunder 117, Grizzlies 115 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 38 |
Game 1 was a record. The 51-point win was the biggest Game 1 win in NBA playoff history, according to Wikipedia. Games 3 and 4 were much tighter. Oklahoma City won them by 6 and 2 points.
Thunder Player Averages in the Series
| Player | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 27.8 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 1.3 steals |
| Jalen Williams | 23.3 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 1.5 steals |
| Chet Holmgren | 18.5 | 7.8 | 0.8 | 2.8 blocks |
| Isaiah Hartenstein | 9.0 | 8.8 | 3.8 | 1.3 steals |
| Alex Caruso | 7.3 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 2.3 steals |
Grizzlies Player Averages in the Series
| Player | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotty Pippen Jr. | 18.3 | 5.5 | 3.5 | 1.0 steal |
| Ja Morant (3 games) | 18.3 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 0.7 steals |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | 16.0 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 steal |
| Desmond Bane | 15.3 | 6.8 | 3.3 | 0.8 steals |
| Santi Aldama | 13.0 | 6.0 | 1.8 | 10 threes made |
| Zach Edey | 6.3 | 7.8 | 1.8 | 2.5 blocks |
Gilgeous-Alexander led the series in scoring, even though he shot only 40.2% from the field. He made up for it at the free-throw line, where he hit 30 of 33. Holmgren blocked 11 shots in four games.
For Memphis, Desmond Bane had a hard series. He made only 20 of 63 shots (31.7%), and just 7 of 32 from three-point range. Morant played three of the four games.
The team numbers tell a clear story. Oklahoma City averaged 120.0 points, 46.3 rebounds, and 25.8 assists per game. Memphis averaged 100.5 points, 44.3 rebounds, and 20.5 assists. The Grizzlies also turned the ball over about 19 times per game, compared with about 10 for the Thunder. Turnovers were a problem for Memphis in the playoffs, just like in the January game.
How to Read a Box Score
If box scores look confusing, here is a short guide to the main columns:
- PTS is points scored.
- REB (or TRB) is total rebounds. These are the missed shots a player grabs.
- AST is assists. This is a pass that leads straight to a basket.
- STL is steals, and BLK is blocked shots.
- TOV is turnovers. This is when a team loses the ball without taking a shot.
- FG means field goals made and tried. For example, 9/18 means 9 made out of 18 shots.
- 3P means three-point shots. FT means free throws.
- +/- shows how the score changed while that player was on the court. A plus number is good.
Where to Check Player Stats
Always compare a blog post with an official box score. Some pages online list numbers that do not match the real game. In the January 9 game, for example, Ja Morant and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did not play at all, so any page that lists their stats for that night is wrong.
These sites are good places to check:
- Basketball Reference has full box scores, quarter-by-quarter stats, and playoff series pages.
- Yahoo Sports shows the final score, stat leaders, and a box score for each game.
- StatMuse lets you search for results between two teams and compare team stats across games.
What Comes Next
The 2026-27 season is close. StatMuse’s schedule shows the first regular season games on October 20. The first few Grizzlies games listed are against the Jazz, Warriors, Kings, and Trail Blazers. Check the official NBA schedule for the next Grizzlies and Thunder date, then compare the new box score with the numbers in this article.
Final Thoughts
The Grizzlies vs Thunder games show how a team can do many things right and still lose. In the January game, Memphis led by 19 at halftime, had more rebounds, more assists, and better three-point shooting. The Thunder won because they took care of the ball and played a much stronger fourth quarter. When you check player stats, look beyond points. Turnovers, shooting streaks, and late-game scoring often decide a close game.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who scored the most points in the Grizzlies vs Thunder game on January 9, 2026?
Jalen Williams of the Thunder scored the most, with 26 points. He also had 10 assists. The top scorer for Memphis was Jaren Jackson Jr., with 23 points. The Thunder won the game 117 to 116.
Why did the Grizzlies lose if they had more rebounds and assists?
Memphis had 52 rebounds to 36 and 35 assists to 24, but the team turned the ball over 17 times. Oklahoma City turned it over only 6 times. Memphis also scored just 22 points in the fourth quarter, while the Thunder scored 36.
Who won the 2025 playoff series between the Grizzlies and the Thunder?
Oklahoma City won the first-round series 4 to 0. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the series with 27.8 points per game. The Thunder went on to win the NBA title that season, and Gilgeous-Alexander was named Finals MVP.
