The 8th seeded Phoenix Suns hosted the first seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in a must-win game at Mortgage Matchup Center Saturday afternoon.
The Thunder led the series 2-0, and despite it being a best-of-seven series, no team in NBA history had ever completed a reverse sweep, and this series would be all but over if the Thunder were to win.
“You never know how the game will go,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “If you get off to a fast start, game’s not over. If you get off to a slow start, game’s not over. You have to be able to play all 48 (minutes). We know they’re going to be energized coming home, not only because they’re down 2-0 but because they’re in front of their home crowd. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
The last game saw the Thunder win 120-107 over Phoenix, which was overshadowed by Devin Booker’s comments towards the officiating that night.
“There’s things you can control every single night,” Daigneault said when asked about the officiating. “Fundamentally, execution wise, game plan wise, that’s what he focus on. There’s going to be a number of things that distract you from that, not just (the officiating). We try to cut through all those and stay focused on our staff and let the chips fall where they may.”
Regardless, Phoenix was in desperate need of a win, but it wasn’t going to be easy, as the Thunder weren’t just the first seed, but the defending NBA Champions.
Despite not having Jalen Williams (hamstring) and Isaiah Joe (personal) on Game-Time Decision, the Thunder still had their main core, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren.
Gilgeous-Alexander was the reigning MVP and was the favorite to win it again this year, while Holmgren came close to winning DPOY, but lost to Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.
Before the game, Daigneault confirmed that Joe would not play Game 3 against the Suns.
The Thunder also has good depth, such as Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, and Ajay Mitchell to name a few.
“They do a great job of shifting,” Ott said regarding the Thunder. “They do a great job of taking your space and then still getting to the shooters. They’re the best at doing that in the NBA. That is something that we’ve been working on.”
As for the Suns, they were led by Booker, Dillon Brooks, and Jalen Green.
“He’s a really good player,” Daigneault said regarding Brooks. “A guy that attacks the game, he’s got a great mentality. He’s also a very skilled player, he’s got great physicality, a big body, not afraid to attack the game defensively and then on offense; he’s rounded his game. He’s a guy we have great respect for.”
The Suns were without Mark Williams (foot), while Grayson Allen (foot) and Jordan Goodwin (calf) were on GTD.
“(Goodwin’s) warming up,” Ott said. “He’s warming up to see what happens. See how he feels and then Grayson’s (Allen) after him. Try to get it right, get out there and have another body to help us out.”
The Suns had decent depth, with the likes of Collin Gillespie, Ryan Dunn, and Royce O’Neale.
“They’re a stout opponent,” Daigneault said regarding the Suns. “They’re organized, well coached, disciplined, physical, they attack the game, so we knew coming into the series we were going to run into some problems.”
Still, the Suns had no room for error, as they had to face an uphill battle with their backs against the wall.
“You got to take it over the edge and not go over,” Ott said. “Just in the playoffs, you can’t lose segments of time. When they go on a run, you got to somehow collectively gain some poise. You got to do it for the maximum level, just not go over the edge and then you feel yourself go over the edge, we got to collect ourselves. You got to be intense, you got to be aggressive, but you got to also have some poise.”
Before the game, Jordan Goodwin was ruled out for Phoenix, while Grayson Allen was deemed good to go for the Suns.
Late in the first, the Suns went on an 11-2 run, as the Thunder struggled to get a basket to go in.
Later in the first though, the Thunder went on an 18-8 run, giving them a 33-28 lead heading into the first.
“Talked about it at halftime,” Ott said. “Talked about it at the end of the first quarter. Just been part of our message in the playoffs. In the first quarter, it was nine minutes we played right there, last three minutes we let it go. Against this team you have to play more consistent than them over a longer stretch.”
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for Oklahoma City with nine points, while Carson Wallace followed with six points.
As for the Suns, Booker had seven points, while Brooks trailed him with six points.
The Thunder’s late run was helped with four straight three-pointers, while the Suns struggled from deep, shooting 3-for-11 from downtown.
Despite that, there were still 36 minutes of basketball to be played.
Green got an and-one after Alex Caruso fouled him late in the second, and the Thunder decided to challenge the defensive call.
The referees deemed it a successful challenge, deeming that Oso Ighodaro had pushed Caruso into Green, giving the Thunder the ball.
The Thunder went on an 8-0 run late in the second, helping the Thunder take a 62-53 lead entering the second half.
“Ending quarters is a big thing in this league,” Brooks said. “They’re big. Those are some things we got to find a way to take care of. Starts off with shot selection and turnovers as well.”
Brooks had the most points for Phoenix with 13 points, while Booker trailed with 11 points.
Green had 10 points and five assists for the Suns.
As for the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander was unstoppable, having 17 points having gone a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor while Mitchell followed with 10 points and four rebounds.
“Give him credit,” Ott said. “42 points on 18 shots, thought some of the shots were incredibly difficult, we tried different matchups, we tried to take it out of hands. Again, we tried different defenders, he had it spinning tonight.”
The Suns also put Ighodaro on Gilgeous-Alexander, likely to avoid him driving to the paint.
A minute into the third, Gilgeous-Alexander elbowed Gillespie, but the referees gave a defensive foul on Gillespie, which led to boos from the arena, and a Suns challenge on the call.
The challenge was successful, and a defensive foul was given on Gilgeous-Alexander.
However, things got bad for Phoenix quickly, as Booker went down after a drive, holding his ankle.
“I didn’t see it live,” Ott said. “I thought I saw him raise his hand as a foul live, and then I looked at it quickly on film. In these types of games those are massive calls or swings, especially in that time. We had some resolve afterwards. I’m sure we’ll take a look at that.”
The Thunder quickly made a basket to make it 69-60, but Phoenix took a timeout as Booker limped off the court and into the huddle.
“It’s fine,” Booker said when asked about his ankle. “I don’t know if it’s intentional or not. I saw him stuck his leg out a little bit, he threw his hand up to say that it was a foul, just wasn’t granted.”
Shortly after Booker headed to the locker room, but made his return a few minutes later.
“No egos,” Brooks said. “It’s not about me; it’s about the team. We have a lot of guys that will play through injury, a lot of guys who will put their heart on the line for a team and we do it for one another.”
Entering the fourth quarter, Oklahoma City led 87-79.
The Thunder always seemed one step ahead of the Suns, and it helped that Gilgeous-Alexander had 30 points, going 12-for-15 from the floor.
“He’s efficient,” Brooks said. “I got him in Game four.”
As for the Suns, Green had the most points with 20, while Brooks followed with 17 points, while Booker had 16 points.
Oklahoma City’s depth was deep, and it showed, as they had 33 bench points, while the Suns only had seven, and all seven points came from Allen.
“That shows their depth,” Ott said. “This is a team that has battled through injuries throughout the year, as we have. They’ve learnt their depth over the course of the season. Tonight they obviously got us with their bench.”
Twelve minutes remained for the Suns to come back and give themselves life in the series.
With eight minutes left though, the Thunder had a 96-85 lead.
Despite their best efforts, Phoenix fell short, as the Thunder won 121-109, giving them a 3-0 lead in the series, and one win away from a sweep.
“I believe in our group,” Brooks said. “No matter if we don’t have the experience, we have heart. We’re going to battle until the end.”
For the Suns, Brooks had a good fourth quarter, which saw him finish with 33 points and seven rebounds, while Green followed up with 26 points.
“Dillon (Brooks) and Jalen (Green) had it going,” Booker said. “Attacking the first collapse defense is what they’re doing. (Green’s) been doing a great job of it.”
Gillespie also finished with seven points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix.
As for the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander was the star player, finishing with 42 points and eight assists, with the second closest scorer being Mitchell with 15 points.
“Make some adjustments on Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander),” Booker said.
“He had it going, super-efficient tonight and it was just a tough coverage.”
The Suns enter Game 4 on Monday, with no room for error, as one more loss will see them eliminated from the NBA Playoffs.
