If you watched the first quarter of Saturday’s Game 3 between the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers, congratulations. You watched NBA Playoff history.
Defensively, the Grizzlies were bad, with the Lakers scoring 35 points. But Memphis’ defense looked like world-beaters compared to its offense.
The Grizzlies finished the first quarter with nine points scored. That set a new leaguewide low for points scored in a quarter and also helped the Lakers tie a record for the biggest lead held after the first quarter of a playoff game.
The 26-point deficit equaled the largest any team in NBA history has ever faced after the first quarter of a postseason game. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the nine points were the fewest scored by an NBA team in any quarter this season.
Memphis guard Dillon Brooks had a lot to say after the Grizzlies won Game 2 to even the series at 1-1.
Knowing that, NBA Twitter seemed to enjoy letting Brooks and the Grizzlies know just how bad their showing at the start of Game 3 was.
Looking for positives from Memphis’ perspective, there’s plenty of time to shake this off, especially given that it’s not an elimination game. But it’s hard to imagine how a team could come out this flat in a playoff game after two days of rest.
[Tim MacMahon, Photo Credit: ESPN]
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