The first-round series between the Phoenix Suns and the Oklahoma City Thunder is finally over. Oklahoma City is a machine that barely broke a sweat to take care of business against one of the better “feel-good” stories of the year in the Suns.
The Suns fought hard and shot the ball well, but their defense and inability to rebound and take care of the basketball cost them again. It was the same old story.
It was a quiet first half for Devin Booker, with the Thunder defense draped on him again; he struggled
to get anything going. Dort and Caruso had him in jail in the opening half, holding him to just 2 points. He poured in 22 in the second half, but it was too little too late. Booker, Green, Brooks, and Gillespie all had 20+ points in a balanced scoring attack for the Suns, but the defense just couldn’t get enough stops to make it a game.
Shai had 31 points, and the Thunder had 6 players in double figures and shot 53% from the field.
Game Flow
First Half
The teams traded buckets early on, with Phoenix showing signs of life on offense. The ball movement was crisp, and they were generating several clean looks.
Then a pair of threes from Collin Gillespie and Dillon Brooks gave them a four-point lead, 17-13. That led to an OKC timeout to regroup. As one would expect, the Thunder responded, and the game quickly tied back up.
A 7-0 run after a Cason Wallace three led to a Suns timeout as OKC took a 3-point lead. An Alex Caruso three made it a 10-0 run to push the Thunder’s lead to six, 27-21.
Collin Gillespie continued to hunt for his shot offensively, pouring in 11 points in the first 9 minutes and 15 seconds. Alex Caruso was killing the Suns with a steal, deflection, and three triples in the quarter, making an impact off the bench.
Phoenix trailed 37-33 after the opening quarter. They closed out the quarter on a 7-0 push, capped off by a deep Grasyon Allen three right before the clock expired.
Despite the Thunder getting plenty of production from Caruso and Chet, Phoenix’s shooting kept them in it. Grayson Allen was providing an offensive punch off the bench, getting to the cup and knocking down threes, starting the game a perfect 4-of-4 from the field with 12 points in his first 8 minutes of action.
Phoenix’s defense was locking in, and the ball was zipping. A Jalen Green triple forced a Thunder timeout as they extended their lead to seven, 55-48, with 5:32 left in the half. Devin Booker (at the time of this score) had just 2 points on 0-3 shooting with 4 turnovers.
A 5-0 run by Shai made it a two-point game out of the timeout quickly. Every punch Phoenix threw was responded to by the Thunder.
Despite Phoenix shooting 60% from the field and drilling 11 threes on 55% shooting, the Suns trailed 75-67 thanks to 61/60/100 shooting splits from the Thunder. Collin Gillespie led all Suns with 17 points, Brooks had 14, and Grayson Allen chipped in with 12. Devin Booker had just 2 points on 0-4 shooting with 5 turnovers to just 3 assists.
Second Half
The second half was more of the same early on. Phoenix would knock down an impossible shot, then OKC would immediately respond.
Booker’s struggles continued, and the Thunder continued to get whatever they wanted offensively. OKC jumped out to a 15-9 edge in the 3rd to push their lead to 14, 90-76.
They were just once again simply… better. In every facet. Quite literally every time Phoenix looked to make a run, they were matched. And whenever they put together a great defensive possession, the rebound seemed to go straight to the Thunder for an extra possession and resulted in a bucket.
Rasheer Fleming FINALLY got some burn, checking in with 3:30 in the 3rd and got a block right off the bat. And what do you know, after a sarcastic round of applause from the very aware Suns fans, they went on a 5-0 run immediately.
The Suns closed out the quarter strong, cutting the lead to just eight, 106-98. The teams had 31 apiece in the 3rd.
The 4th quarter started with more of the same. Phoenix would do something great. The Thunder would match it and do it better. Rinse and repeat.
They were just too much once again. A tip of the cap to the Thunder.
Up Next
The 2025-26 season is officially over for the Phoenix Suns. On to the offseason.
