Top Performers: Bazley Sets Career-High, Waters III Rekindles Hot Hand

The Oklahoma City Thunder fell to Memphis Sunday, but the night did light a fire in multiple members of the roster.

Following a three-day break, the Oklahoma City Thunder went through the motions in their return to play, falling to the Memphis Grizzlies 125-118.

Sunday’s contest opened later than advertised as with both teams hitting the floor with white-colored jerseys, the Grizzlies scurried back to their tunnel – returning in navy.

Oklahoma City’s tip-off confusion carried into play as the group trailed from minute two until the final buzzer. In all, the Thunder’s biggest lead rested at two points.

The Thunder kept in distance with the Grizzlies the entire way. However, their legion of seven double-digit scorers proved to be too much.

Here were the top performers from Sunday’s meeting:

Darius Bazley

Alonzo Adams / USA Today

Known as one of OKC’s biggest boom-or-bust performers, Darius Bazley has flirted with major outings since being drafted. Sunday, he had his big break.

In a game-high 39 minutes, Bazley ran up the scorecard to tally a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds on the evening. The forward made himself known at all three levels shooting 8-of-12 on twos, 3-of-7 from deep, and 4-of-8 from the charity stripe.

Bazley’s hard gathers were too much for Memphis’ frontcourt, as his sneaky penetrations led to wide-open layups – even on misses.

Matched up against two established forwards in Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke, Bazley’s efforts are highly commendable. It’ll be interesting to see how he responds in Monday’s meeting against the Hornets.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Alonzo Adams / USA Today

Surprise, surprise, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had himself a field day around the basket.

Faced up against Ja Morant, Gilgeous-Alexander stole the show, ousting Morant’s 17 points with a game-high 31 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. SGA shot shaky from three, shooting 1-of-5, but his elite ability to dig inside garnered him 14 points in the paint and 12 hits at the line.

Gilgeous-Alexander did a marvelous job bouncing back from his eight-point showing Sunday. With the effort, he’s tallied 30+ points in seven of his last nine games, averaging 30.2 points in the span.

Lindy Waters III

Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

As the worst three-point team in the league, the Thunder have been desperate for shooters all year. So far, Lindy Waters III has supplied such services.

Waters III dabbled into pump fakes and fly by's against Memphis, using his off-ball movement to match a career-high 16 points, and four made triples. Waters III noted he honed such off-ball skills in the G League, as once his name hit the scouting report – teams were looking to run him off the line.

Upon initial signing, Lindy Waters III appeared to be nothing more than a short-term shooter. However, with two 16-point games in his last three nights, he could make himself a hot commodity.

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