Grizzlies bury Thunder by 73 points, set league mark
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Grizzlies broke the NBA record for margin of victory Thursday, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 152-79.
The 73-point margin easily topped the previous mark, which was Cleveland’s 68-point win over Miami. The Cavaliers beat the Heat 148-80 on Dec. 17, 1991.
Memphis used 12 players, and nine scored in double figures, with Jaren Jackson Jr.’s 27 points leading the way. The Grizzlies were without their best player, injured guard Ja Morant.
It was 72-36 at halftime, and Memphis eventually led by as many as 78 points.
The Grizzlies shot a franchise-record 62.5 percent. De’anthony Melton scored 19 points, Santi Aldama 18 and John Konchar 17 for Memphis, and none of them started.
■ Suns 114, Pistons 103: At Phoenix, Cam Johnson and Cameron Payne each scored 19 points for Phoenix, which won its franchise-record 18th in a row. The Suns (19-3), who led 69-51 at halftime, got 48 points from reserves.
■ Spurs 114, Trail Blazers 83: At Portland, Ore., Bryn Forbes scored 18 points for San Antonio, which didn’t trail in its third straight win. Portland (11-12), which had won 10 straight home games, shot 35.4 percent.
■ Bulls 119, Knicks 115: At New York, Demar Derozan scored 34 points, and Zach Lavine and Nikola Vucevic each added 27 for Chicago, which recovered after New York had erased a 21-point deficit.
■ Raptors 97, Bucks 93: At Toronto, Fred Vanvleet scored 29 points for Toronto, which halted Milwaukee’s eightgame win streak. Giannis Antetokounmpo (sore right calf) didn’t play for the Bucks.