The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 121-92, in an NBA seeding game in Orlando on Friday afternoon.

The Grizzlies (33-37) knew they were skating on thin ice coming into the contest, as their own 0-4 record in seeding games and the Trail Blazers' surge in Orlando had left Memphis with just a slim half-game lead over Portland for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Nevertheless, the message of urgency didn't seem to quite register in the first quarter, when Oklahoma City established a 37-25 lead. It was at that point that Ja Morant and company apparently decided enough was enough, leading to them finishing the final 36 minutes on a 96-67 run to notch an easy and much-needed victory. The stat sheet was unsurprisingly heavily in favor of the Grizzlies considering the lopsided score, with the most striking disparity arguably coming in the 55.4 percent shooting percentage they mustered compared to the Thunder's forgettable 35.1 percent figure.

Chris Paul led the way for the Thunder with 17 points, adding five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Luguentz Dortz followed with 16 points, three boards, two assists and one steal. Danilo Gallinari and Darius Bazley contributed matching 12-point tallies and also dished out two assists apiece. Nerlens Noel furnished 11 points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander totaled 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal.

Dillon Brooks paced the Grizzlies with 22 points, complementing them with six rebounds, four assists and one steal. Jonas Valanciunas and Morant each provided 19 points, with Valanciunas adding 11 rebounds and Morant recording nine assists. Brandon Clarke and Gorgui Dieng posted 12 points apiece off the bench while pulling down eight and seven rebounds, respectively. Grayson Allen poured in 11 points.

The Thunder is back on the floor on Sunday afternoon against the Washington Wizards, while the Grizzlies face the Toronto Raptors on Sunday afternoon as well.