Thunder strike: Historic comeback to take 3-0 in their series

In one of the biggest comebacks in the Playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies 114-108 on Thursday to move ahead 3-0 in this first-round series in a game marked by the injury to Ja Morant. In Thursday's other series, the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks took 2-1 leads against the Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons, respectively.

The biggest drama of the day was in Memphis, where the Grizzlies went from heaven to hell against the Thunder when Morant had to leave the game. The point guard hurt his hip on a nasty fall when his team was leading by a resounding 67-40 score on the brink of halftime.

Without their leader, the Grizzlies were overwhelmed in the second half by Oklahoma City, the best team of the regular season. Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, who scored 31 and 24 points, respectively, the Thunder will get their first chance to wrap up this Western Conference series in Saturday's Game 4.

Morant's injury ends Memphis' comeback

Memphis now finds itself in the worst possible position after a night in which it had revived the hopes of its fans. After qualifying late for the Playoffs in the regular season, the Grizzlies took two beatings in Oklahoma City. However, back in front of their home crowd, Memphis reacted with a blazing start to the game.

Point guard Scotty Pippen Jr. was the driving force for the home team in the first half, scoring 23 of his 28 points. The son of Scottie Pippen, running mate of Michael Jordan on the legendary Bulls teams of the '90s, sunk 5 3-pointers. In the early goings of the game, only Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams responded for OKC.

Memphis came to lead by 29 points before the game turned completely around with three minutes left before halftime. On a counterattack, Pippen Jr. passed to Ja Morant for a lay-up. Morant exploded into the air when he collided with Lu Dort, who had moved into the paint to contest the shot.

The point guard injured his hip in his fall and spent several minutes lying on the court unable to get up. Very sore, Morant missed both free throws because of the personal foul and he limped off the court visibly amid a standing ovation from the crowd.

The Grizzlies, who went into halftime with a 26-point lead (77-51), confirmed shortly thereafter that their star would not return to the court. The Thunder did not squander the opportunity, and Chet Holmgren, who had only scored 1 point in the first half, took over the game in the third quarter, scoring 16 points, with 4 3-pointers.

The visitors pulled within 10 points (86-76) before the close of the third quarter and took their first lead on the scoreboard with a minute to go, which Alex Caruso took care of maintaining with several key plays on defense.

Clippers hold off Jokic to take series lead

In another Western Conference series, the Los Angeles Clippers earned their second win over the Denver Nuggets 117-83 with 21 points from Kawhi Leonard and another 20 from James Harden.

For Denver, Nikola Jokic recorded a triple double of 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists.

The Clippers, who lead the series 2-1, will host Saturday's fourth clash.

Brunson leads Knicks to win at Detroit

In the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks won 118-116 over the Detroit Pistons to take a 2-1 lead. The Pistons had won their first playoff game in 17 years in New York on Monday, but that curse lives on for the time being in home games.

Cade Cunningham, who had 24 points and 11 assists, and his teammates never threw in the towel in front of their 20,000 fans, but the Knicks handled themselves better down the stretch thanks to clutch play from Jalen Brunson.

The point guard put up 30 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists and settled another tight win down the stretch for the Knicks by scoring 8 points in the final minute and a half.

The Pistons rallied from several big deficits and came within just three points (108-105) with under a minute-and-a-half to play. But Brunson, a master in tense moments, scored two consecutive baskets and then buckled down for the win from the free-throw line.