Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kenrich Williams. Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Depleted Thunder complete wild comeback vs. Grizzlies

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jan 9, 2026 11:00 PM ET

With no Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Chet Holmgren in the lineup on Friday evening, the Oklahoma City Thunder trailed the Memphis Grizzlies by 19 at halftime inside FedEx Forum.

OKC whittled Memphis' lead to 13 by the end of the third quarter, but the Grizzlies maintained their lead and appeared to be on track for a solid win in front of their home fans.

That was until a depleted Thunder lineup turned on the jets in the final three and a half minutes to lead OKC to its 32nd victory of the season.

Memphis led 114-103 with 3:32 to go. But after an Ajay Mitchell basket, Oklahoma City caught fire. With 2:26 to go, Mitchell made a three-pointer to make it 114-112. And with just 1:07 to play, Kenrich Williams drilled a three to put OKC on top for the first time since the 6:54 mark in the first quarter.

KENRICH WILLIAMS FOR 3. THUNDER LEAD.

They trailed by as many as 21 PTS in the second half

Under a minute left on NBA TV & NBA League Pass! pic.twitter.com/oa3lgLj9iX
— NBA (@NBA) January 10, 2026

The Thunder close it out

Memphis had possession of the basketball and an opportunity to win the game on the final possession, but Alex Caruso blocked Cedric Coward's attempted game-winner to seal a 117-116 road win for the Thunder.

Jalen Williams led OKC with 26 points, while Mitchell scored 23 and Williams contributed 21 off the bench. Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 23 points.

Oklahoma City has now won two in a row after a 6-6 12-game span saw it fall from 24-1 to 30-7. The Thunder will return home to play the Miami Heat on Jan. 11, and Friday's win proves that even without their biggest and brightest stars, OKC can still win basketball games.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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