The Phoenix Suns (20-14) hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder (30-5) on Sunday at Mortgage Matchup Center.
Oklahoma was riding a four-game winning streak, while the Suns were coming off a win against the Sacramento Kings.
The Thunder sat first in the Western Conference, while the Suns sat seventh.
Despite winning five out of their last six games, the Suns were a heavy underdog, as they were going against not just the best team in the NBA in terms of record, but also the defending champions.
The Thunder were looking to repeat as champions after winning the 2025 NBA title, and they’d gotten off to an incredible start.
“We know they’re good,” Suns head coach Jordan Ott said regarding the Thunder. “These guys are just athletes. They do a really good job of manipulating space or some type of screen action. It’s just different how they clear space. They do a great job.”
Stars such as center Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams were paving the way.
Holmgren had 18.2 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game and was a key piece for the Thunder.
“His ability to stretch the floor,” Ott said regarding Holmgren. “He’s in a little bit of a different spot on the perimeter than most bigs. He’s obviously added the ability to go off the dribble. Defensively, he changes the game at the rim.”
However, no one came close to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was the reigning MVP winner, and was second in the MVP race.
Nikola Jokic, who was first in the MVP race, went down with an injury for four weeks at best, giving Gilgeous-Alexander an opening to repeat as MVP winner.
“He loves the process of becoming a great player,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said regarding Gilgeous-Alexander. “He really does. The way he interacts with every teammate, and he’s had a lot of teammates in six years. He gives everybody time, a complete pro. That’s some of the secret sauce of why we’ve been successful.”
It helped that he was averaging 32.1 PPG, the second most among NBA players.
He also led the team in assists, averaging 6.4 assists per game.
Despite the boatload of talent, key role players were out: Jaylin Williams (heel) and Isaiah Hartenstein (calf) while Isaiah Joe (knee) and Carson Wallace (knee) were on Game-Time Decision.
Hartenstein led the Thunder in rebounds with 10.4 RPG.
Despite the talent, the Suns had proven their fight, and stars such as Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks were showing it, as they both averaged 20+ PPG.
Mark Williams was also showing his worth since being traded to Phoenix, leading the team in rebounds with 8.3 RPG.
“They crash like crazy,” Daigneault said regarding the Suns. “They play hard in every facet; it’s why they’ve been successful as they’ve been this season. They’re going to get the ball sometimes, it’s easier said than done.”
As for Phoenix, Jalen Green (hamstring) was still out, while Grayson Allen (knee) was on GTD.
“This is the ramp up time period is where he’s at,” Ott said regarding Green’s health. “There are measures to reach. The soft tissue injuries, we want to be as careful as we can. He’s a valuable piece to us; he has a long career ahead of him.”
The biggest battle would be Booker on Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams on Holmgren.
If the Suns could keep those two in check, then the opening would be provided by the bench players.
Even then, Oklahoma City’s bench players were averaging 10+ PPG.
“They’d bring guys off the bench,” Ott said. “They run their system. They take starters out, bring some of those guys back in into the second unit.”
Before the game, however, Allen was ruled out. This would be Allen’s ninth straight game that he’d miss.
“Everything seems good to go,” Ott said regarding Allen’s health. “He wasn’t going to play back-to-back (games) anyway. Tomorrow hopefully we’ll see him back out there.”
Royce O’Neale replaced Allen for the Suns in the starting lineup.
As for the Thunder, Joe and Wallace were both cleared to play, making things tougher for Phoenix.
Entering the second quarter, Oklahoma City held a 26-20 lead.
Despite the close score, Phoenix wasn’t helping themselves, shooting 3-for-12 for threes, and were 0-for-8 at one point.
The Thunder held a 15-point lead at one point, but a late Suns run helped the score out and were looking to close it even more entering the second quarter.
“That’s our culture,” Jordan Goodwin said on the team’s resilience. “That’s the minimum, but we’re going to go in there and play hard every day. Just by that it’s going to give us a chance to be in these games. When we’re making shots like this and playing at a high level, we’re kind of hard to stop.”
Midway through the second quarter, Brooks drove to the rim and fouled Holmgren, and the referees went to check if there was enough contact for it to be a flagrant foul.
After reviewing the foul, the referees deemed there wasn’t enough contact for a foul.
Despite holding an 18-point lead at one point, entering the second half; the Thunder only led by seven.
“It’s the NBA,” Booker said. “We’ve been on both sides of that this year. We’ve made comebacks, and we’ve given up leads. We just got to stick with it. Turn it up a little defensively, make it tough on them, and I think we did a good job all around on that tonight.”
Gilgeous-Alexander had gone quiet, only scoring seven points so far, but Luguentz Dort and Williams had 10 points for the Thunder.
As for the Suns, it had been a struggle, as not a single player had broken double digits in the points category.
Goodwin led the points total for the Suns with nine points entering the half.
“After the second one, I felt pretty good,” Goodwin said. “I knew I was going to get a couple more, so I just stayed confident with it. Super blessed, definitely confident. I know we’re fighting for a playoff position so I’m just trying to stay levelheaded.”
The Suns bench had held its own, outscoring the Thunder’s bench by four points.
“Honestly, in the first half, I thought we played very well,” Ott said. “To be down seven- we had played very well. I knew our process was right. Just take care of the ball against this group. Our quality of shots were pretty good against this defense.”
After a questionable call on Brooks early in the third, the fans let out their frustration, as the arena filled with “Ref, you suck!” chants.
With the Suns down 54-51, Dort fouled Booker, but afterwards, a technical foul was given on Dort, and Booker sank all three free-throws to tie the game.
Entering the fourth quarter, not only had the Suns held their own, but held the lead, up 74-73, and the building was alive.
Fans were backing the team, looking for a thrilling upset.
Gilgeous-Alexander exploded, having 19 points entering the fourth.
Holmgren had 11 points and seven rebounds, dominating in the paint for rebounds and was more than capable when shooting from downtown.
Booker matched the energy, grabbing 17 points, but Goodwin had been crucial, grabbing 15 points, all from beyond the arc.
“Open shots,” Goodwin said regarding his three-point shooting, “Open shots, and having Booker be so unselfish and having the confidence in me to pass that ball means a lot to me too.”
Down two, O’Neale fouled Williams, but Phoenix decided to challenge the call.
After checking twice, the call was upheld, and Williams was sent to the line.
With five minutes left, it was anyone’s game, as the Thunder were up four.
With one minute left, Phoenix was up 102-101.
Brooks got the ball, and as Gilgeous-Alexander guarded him, he took a step back three.
Brooks dilled it, and with 36.1 left, the Thunder called a timeout as Phoenix found themselves up 105-101.
Holmgren made a quick two, and as Brooks tried to handle the ball, it went out of bounds.
With 22.6 seconds left, the game came down to one shot.
With 8.2 seconds left, Williams hit a fadeaway two over Oso Ighodaro to tie the game at 105.
“It’s our turn,” Booker said when asked about Williams’ shot. “Just slow it down, I feel like I’ve been here before.”
The Suns called a timeout with one final chance to win it, or at worst, go to overtime.
The ball found the hands of Booker, and as Caruso picked him up, Booker shot for three.
It went in, and with 0.7 seconds left, Booker gave the Suns a 108-105 lead.
“Just trying to get the last shot,” Booker said. “I knew a double was coming so it was going to be hard to get in the paint. Just wanted to get it with the horn going off, still didn’t do that, but we’ll take it. It’s a feeling that you can’t replicate.”
The Thunder inbounded it to Mitchell who was wide open, but he put too much on it.
“They had a pretty clean look in the corner,” Booker said. “I never want to be the guy that celebrates too early and then we’re in overtime and then we lose. That’d hurt even worse.”
The Suns hung on 108-105, and the building erupted.
“Those games that end up like that,” Ott said. “There’s so much emotion. Just kind of pieced together, a lot of joy in that locker room, just great overall team win.”
Phoenix had not only just beaten the defending NBA champions, but they beat a team with only five losses in 35 games prior to this game, and the fans knew it.
“They’re everybody’s target,” Booker said regarding the Thunder. “Those are the champs and they’re seasoned. They’re a really good team, so that’s who you want to match yourself up against. We all believed in it, and we came out with a big one tonight.”
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 25 points, while Williams finished with 23 for the Thunder.
As for Chet Holmgren, he finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, just short of a double-double.
Brooks finished strong, with 22 points, and Booker finished with 24 points, six rebounds, and nine assists.
“Continue to make the right play,” Ott said regarding Booker. “Empowers his teammates, continues to make the right play, and then at the end of the night, the ball’s going to find him.”
The big name though was Goodwin, who finished with a career high in both points with 26 points, and threes made, as he went 8-for-13 when shooting for three.
“I’m not sure we win without Jordan Goodwin,” Ott said. “The ball just found him. Booker ended with nine assists, but a lot of the corner threes that Goodwin got is because our superstar passes the basketball. Works incredibly hard, it’s good to see him have a night like that.”
The Suns jump to 21-16 while the Thunder fall to 30-6.
The Suns will visit the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center Monday.
