Staring at Cedric Coward directly in the eyes, Alex Caruso was locked in. The final seconds ticked away. The veteran two-time NBA champion was methodical. The rookie — as awesome as he’s been this season — looked inexperienced. With the game on the line, Caruso came up with the game-winning block on a desperate turnaround jumper by Coward.
Wow. Talk about fortitude and strength. The Oklahoma City Thunder mounted a 21-point comeback in their shocking 117-116 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Early on, it felt like the Thunder were about to be on the wrong side of a blowout. Something that’s rarely happened in the totality of their current era, but has happened more often in recent weeks. They were in a 35-25 deficit after the first quarter.
We all knew the offense would get ugly without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but the defense continues to play a couple of tiers below its league-best standards. Jock Landale had nine points on mostly second-chance looks as OKC was beaten up on the boards again.
Things would only get worse in the second frame. Jaren Jackson Jr. pushed Memphis’ lead to 48-28 with plenty of time to balloon it in the first half. The Thunder looked lifeless on both sides of the floor. For the second time in three games, OKC stared down the possibility of another blowout loss.
The Thunder only scored 21 points in the second frame. They entered halftime in a 65-46 deficit. You couldn’t have drawn up a worse half — even when you’re considering who was all out for OKC.
The second half, though, was a much different story. A tale of two halves, if you want to dig into your sports cliche bag. While the fourth quarter will get all of the attention, OKC’s work started in a third quarter that flew under the radar, where the vibes and scoreboard didn’t match.
After the Grizzlies had a 77-56 lead, the Thunder went on a quiet 12-3 run. Nothing crazy and won’t grab headlines. But that stretch turned this into a feasible contest. The offense finally started to get going for OKC. Ajay Mitchell relentlessly drove to the basket. Guys like Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins started to swish in their outside looks.
The Grizzlies stiff-armed the Thunder the rest of the way. They kept it a double-digit difference. But a 35-point third frame had OKC feel much better about itself. They exited in a 94-81 deficit — again, nothing wild. But just enough of a crack in the window to continue to chip away.
Alas, midway through the final frame, it felt like the Thunder’s comeback attempt was officially over. Vince Williams Jr. found GG Jackson for the corner 3-pointer. Down 109-95 with a little over six minutes left, OKC’s margin for error was paper-thin. It needed everything to go right and minimal things wrong the rest of the way.
Well, that happened. An unreal 21-5 run over the next five minutes completely flipped the script. Battling a compromised wrist, Williams waved goodbye to his jumper and went back to a blue-collar style of scoring with constant drives to the basket. Same with Mitchell. Upping the physicality, Kenrich Williams also stepped up as the third banana.
Part of that game-sealing run was when OKC scored 14 straight points. That stretch happened after Coward pushed Memphis’ lead to 114-103 with a little over three minutes left. A Williams-to-Williams connection finally turned the scoreboard. The Thunder had a 115-114 lead with a minute left after the role player knocked down the big-time outside jumper.
Ripping the ball away from Jackson Jr. on the next possession, Dort added to OKC’s lead at the free-throw line. The Thunder had an unreal 117-114 lead with 58 seconds left. Landale’s putback made it a one-point game once again. After Williams couldn’t hit the dagger jumper, the Grizzlies had the chance to hit a game-winner.
Instead, Coward panicked. All of his options were sealed off. Caruso came up with the game-winning stop at the buzzer. Wow. Somehow, someway, the short-handed Thunder snatched a win away from the jaws of defeat. They had 36 points in the final frame. This is up there of their most impressive wins this season.
The Thunder shot 47% from the field and went 9-of-37 (24.3%) from 3. They shot 22-of-28 on free throws. They had 24 assists on 43 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Williams led the way with an efficient 26 points and 10 assists. Mitchell scaled up for an efficient 23 points and six assists. Williams had a season-high 21 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Wiggins had 16 points and seven rebounds. Dort had 13 points and six rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies shot 47% from the field and went 14-of-41 (34.1%) from 3. They shot 20-of-24 on free throws. They had 35 assists on 41 baskets. Seven Grizzlies players scored double-digit points.
Jackson Jr. led the way with an efficient 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Coward had 13 points and nine rebounds. Landale collected a 13-point and 10-rebound double-double. Jaylen Wells had 10 points and four rebounds. Jackson scored 18 points and Santi Aldama scored 15 points off the bench. Williams Jr. also had 15 points and five assists.
You don’t want to oversell what the lasting impact of a random January game where both teams had hospital squads out there can be, but man, in the moment, this feels huge. At least for the vibes. The Thunder badly needed a gritty, comeback win. For the last couple of weeks, their mojo has been off. This improbable win could jumpstart things back to what they were.
Without Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, the formula needed to be for Williams and Mitchell to be the unquestioned best players. Even though there were a few bumps on the road, both stepped up when needed. Just awesome stuff to see — especially for the former. Maybe we should give the reigning NBA champion more runway.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades:
Jalen Williams: A-plus
Getting the ball at the top of the key, Williams had Coward fall for the pump-fake. He drove to the basket before eventually going up for a floater as Landale was about to go for the stop. The opening bucket of the fourth quarter helped him get things going.
Williams finished with 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting, 10 assists and five rebounds. He shot 0-of-3 from 3 and went 8-of-10 on free throws. He also had a steal and a block.
As the Thunder were buried on the scoreboard early on, the social media discourse around Williams was impossible to avoid. They needed the All-NBA player to step up. The table was cleared for him to hunt out as many shots as he’d like. Instead, it was more of the same with a passive shot-hunting mindset.
It’s tough to blame Williams, either. The jumper hasn’t been there all season. I think we’ve all underestimated how long it’d take for him to get over his wrist surgery. At this point, it feels like the badly missed shots have affected his confidence. To the point that he’s hesitant to get his signature pull-up jumper.
With a quiet 14 points through three quarters, it felt like that noise would only grow. But something happened in the fourth frame. Almost like a flip was switched inside Williams’ head. Instead of going for jumpers, he became a drive-only scorer. The results were his best stretch of basketball in perhaps this whole season.
The confidence was back. Williams sliced through Memphis’ defense. A couple of high steps had him directly in front of the rim. He used his pterodactyl wingspan to finish over defenders. The touch was also back. A couple of his drives resulted in pretty layups that kissed the glass.
Another bonus that comes with drives is free-throw trips. That’s been something Williams has sought. Frustration has only boiled over. To the point you can count on him to visibly disagree with non-calls. Well, double-digit free-throw attempts showed you how he can return to being a superb-efficient 20-point scorer.
In just one quarter, Williams changed the narratives of this game. He had 12 points in it as the Thunder mounted a comeback. If you’re OKC, you want him to watch what he did in that stretch ad nauseam on the plane ride back. That’s the formula for him to be a reliable second option until his wrist unthaws.
Ajay Mitchell: A-plus
Navigating through Branden Carlson’s screen, Mitchell found a lane. He dribbled his way to a pull-up floater that went over Landale’s reach. The opening bucket previewed how the 23-year-old would gladly eat up plenty of the vacated possessions with those who were out.
Mitchell finished with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting, six assists and three rebounds. He shot 2-of-6 from 3 and went 3-of-5 on free throws. He also had a block.
A breakout year has skyrocketed Mitchell up the rotation. Desperately needing others to scale up more than usual, the Thunder didn’t need to ask him twice to hunt out for his shot more often. The drive-heavy scorer sliced through Memphis’ defense.
You saw him lower his shoulders and attack the Grizzlies. Not exactly a one-for-one replacement for Gilgeous-Alexander, but a similar enough shot diet. Like Williams, he stepped up in the second half as Memphis’ 21-point lead slowly melted away. He had 17 points and nine in the fourth quarter.
Of course, what makes Mitchell a seamless fit with any lineup is what he can do off the ball. You saw that with a couple of big-time outside jumpers. One included from the right wing that swished in as he trailed Williams in transition. Just an unreal bucket that added onto OKC’s momentum.
With half of the roster out, the Thunder needed all hands on deck. Mitchell did that. He stepped up to be one of OKC’s three 20-point scorers. You always hear about how rich their depth is. He’s one of the reasons for that, with a breakout season that has upped his importance to the squad.
Kenrich Williams: A-plus
Parked at the corner, the ball eventually found its way into Williams’ hands. After being doubled, Williams kicked it out to him from the corner spot. The 31-year-old calmly knocked down the outside jumper to put OKC ahead with a little over a minute left. A moment well earned, considering all of the small things he did for this win.
Williams finished with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting and eight rebounds. He shot 3-of-7 from 3 and went 2-of-3 on free throws. He also had two steals.
Usually at the end of the bench, Williams received plenty of minutes. You quickly remembered why he became a fan favorite. Before he checked in, the Thunder looked checked out. It felt like we were on the way to another disappointing loss amid this mediocre stretch. Instead, he was exactly the energy provider they needed to start this comeback win.
Williams played his role perfectly. He received plenty of easy looks around the rim on dump-off passes. He cashed in on his jumpers. Usually, you don’t see the Thunder rely on him as a scorer. But the circumstances called for it. He put up his first 20-point game since 2021 in response.
Adding to OKC’s momentum, Williams scored nine points in the final frame. He hit on a couple of outside jumpers as they snowballed the Grizzlies. While the offense was a nice surprise, what he did on defense is what’s helped him carve out a lengthy NBA career.
The Thunder eventually returned to their defensive identity. They played a crash-first style that had the Grizzlies shaken. Anytime the Memphis ball-handler took more than a couple of seconds to make a decision, Williams and others surrounded them. That type of endless energy has dulled over the last few weeks. This was a return to the norm for OKC.
If you can play Williams some significant minutes, positive things mostly happen. There’s a reason why the advanced stats have loved him over the years. You saw why the 31-year-old is one of the longest tenured players on the Thunder.
Workin’ on defense & workin’ in the midrage 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/mnqdZHlnKN
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 10, 2026
Alex Caruso: A
Talk about a storybook ending of the week for Caruso. To start, he played textbook one-on-one defense against Devin Booker in the final seconds. Didn’t matter. The Phoenix superstar still swished in a stupidly impressive pull-up 3-pointer for the win. Same situation with Coward, the All-Defense Team talent completely shut down the rookie. Redemption.
Caruso finished with seven points on 2-of-4 shooting, three rebounds and two assists. He shot 0-of-1 from 3 and went 3-of-3 on free throws. He also had two blocks and one steal.
The box score stats might not pop off, but there’s a reason why Caruso has continuously been on the floor in these high-stress situations. The Thunder have full confidence that he can affect the scoreboard without needing to put the ball through the hoop. You saw that theory proven once again.
The Thunder needed some energy off the bench badly. Caruso did that. Alongside Williams, both veteran role players were the ones to snap OKC out of its funky mindset that had them down by 20 points to a short-handed Grizzlies squad to begin with.
The scoring and outside shooting may not be there for Caruso, but what he brings on the defensive end is easily worth the headaches. The Thunder have fully bought into being a defensive-first team. That was the side of the ball that helped them get back into this and steal this road win.
Count it for AC 😯 pic.twitter.com/e516osvLq2
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 10, 2026
Locked down on defense to lock down the W 🔒 pic.twitter.com/beXmijMzdC
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 10, 2026
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This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder mount comeback in 117-116 win over Grizzlies