The Oklahoma City Thunder fall to the Phoenix Suns, 124-104, in the team’s first game back from the All-Star Break. While the final deficit appears to look like a blowout game, the score does not justify the Thunder’s efforts to make this a competitive game as the Suns start a several-week stretch without Chris Paul.
This was a five-point with a little over five minutes left in the fourth quarter until the Suns decided to go nuclear and finish the contest on a 21-6 run. The Thunder were able to make it a competitive game despite a lackluster start that saw them trail by 17 points after the first quarter. The returning Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey led the way for the Thunder as the backcourt duo did most of the offensive heavy lifting.
For the Suns, Devin Booker’s 25 points and Cameron Johnson’s and Mikal Bridges’ 21 points led the way for the team to come out with a win in the final home stretch of the regular season as they sit with a comfortable first seed lead.
Overall, this was a good first game back from the break as the young and rebuilding Thunder were able to make last year’s Western Conference champions earn a win.