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NBA

Memphis Grizzlies beat OKC Thunder by 73 points. Some of the most lopsided wins in sports

The Memphis Grizzlies clobbered the Oklahoma City Thunder 152-79 on Thursday, making that 73-point margin the biggest blowout in NBA history.

That eclipsed the previous margin of 68 points when the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Miami Heat 148-80 in 1991.

“This isn’t indicative of who our team is, how we’ve competed all season from training camp all the way through the games,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It’s important I think to keep that in mind internally for us.”

The 6-16 Thunder are in the midst of a massive rebuild, using a heavy rotation of young players 25 years old and younger.

Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., right, greets teammates in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dec. 2, 2021, in Memphis, Tenn.

We take a look at some of the biggest blowouts in team sports history:

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MLB

The Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles 30-3 in 2007 with the Rangers doing all their scoring in four innings – five in the third, nine in the sixth, 10 in the eighth and six in the ninth. Baltimore actually had a 3-0 lead after three innings.

Ten batters had at least 10 hits for the Rangers, six batters had at least three hits and Texas hit six home runs, including two grand slams. Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and infielder Ramon Vazquez each went 4-for-6 with two home runs and seven RBI. The Rangers collected 29 hits in 57 at-bats, and every run was earned against four Orioles pitchers.

NHL

The Detroit Red Wings blanked the New York Rangers 15-0 at historic Olympia Stadium in Detroit in 1944. It was a normal 2-0 Red Wings lead after the first period, but 7-0 after two and eight more goals in the third resulted in the lopsided score.

Syd Howe (no relation to Gordie) had a hat trick and two assists, and Carl Liscombe, Don Grosso and Murray Armstrong each had two goals while four players (Howe, Armstrong, Grosso and Joe Carveth) each recorded five points.

NFL

Seventy-three to zero just wasn’t the score of any ol’ football game. This was the 1940 NFL Championship game, and Chicago stuck it to Washington. The Bears threw just 10 passes and rushed for 381 yards and seven touchdowns. Washington had nine turnovers, including eight interceptions, three of which were returned for touchdowns. Earlier in the season, after Washington defeated Chicago 7-3, Washington owner George Preston Marshall called the Bears “quitters” and “cry babies,” according to accounts. Maybe this was the start of bulletin-board material because George Halas’ Bears stomped Washington in the title game.

College football

In 1916, Georgia Tech, coached by John Heisman, walloped Cumberland 222-0, but that’s hardly a matchup of supposed equals. It’s a wild story.

In more recent times, Oklahoma defeated Texas A&M 77-0 in 2003, and Houston clobbered Southern Methodist 95-21 in 1989. Coming back off the most severe sanctions in NCAA history (the “death penalty”), SMU was blitzed by Houston’s run-and-shoot offense and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Andre Ware. The Cougars led 59-14 at halftime and made a run at 100 points behind a single-game record 1,012 yards of offense. After every touchdown, Houston’s mascot knocked out pushups for every point the team had scored to that point – adding up to 682.

College basketball – men’s and women’s

There have been some absurd final scores across all divisions and associations. In 2019, Utah defeated Mississippi Valley State 143-49, the largest margin of victory involving two Division I schools in men’s basketball. Nine Utes scored in double-figures, including a game-high 26 points from Timmy Allen. Utah made 17-of-34 3-pointers and shot 63.3% from the field.

In women’s basketball, Baylor pummeled Winthrop 140-32 in 2016. Khadijiah Cave scored 25 points off the bench, and Lauren Cox and Alexis Prince each scored 23 for the Bears. Baylor made just 11 3-pointers but dominated with 75 rebounds, including 30 on the offensive end.

High school basketball – girls and boys

In 1990, Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie scored 101 points in Inglewood (California) Morningside’s 102-24 victory against South Torrance. By the way, the final score was also the halftime score, as South Torrance refused to play the second half. Leslie scored 101 points in 16 minutes, going 37-for-56 from the field and 27-for-35 at the foul line.

This boys' result should be noted for its unsportsmanlike nature. In 1992, Jackson City (Kentucky) defeated Woodbridge Academy 215-28. Jackson City's Ed Lowdenback admitted he wanted to set a scoring record and told the Courier-Journal in Louisville, “Unfortunately, I must say we pressed the whole game” on a court that was smaller than regulation size.

High school football

Let’s stay recent with this one. Inglewood (Calif). High defeated Morningside 106-0 on Oct. 29. Morningside coach Brian Collins called it a “classless move,” and Inglewood principal Debra Tate and coach Mil’Von James apologized. Inglewood Unified School District said in a statement it was “saddened beyond words by the events.”

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