Hitting a spin move on Grayson Allen, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was called for a costly offensive foul as Allen covered his face in pain. The call warranted a review to see if it fit the criteria of a flagrant.
The replays ruled it didn’t as Allen’s nose was hit with the back of Gilgeous-Alexander’s head as he spun around. After it stayed a common foul, OKC challenged the call and won. A pair of reviews turned an offensive foul into an extra possession.
Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down a jumper after the lengthy process and extinguished any hopes of a comeback for the Phoenix Suns in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 118-110 win.
“We were able to get the start under control pretty quickly, obviously that was good,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “That was an avalanche in the third and fourth. They really got into a groove there…
“I thought we showed great resilience in the fourth to climb back into it when we went down after all that.”
The back-and-forth contest saw three lead changes and two ties in dramatic fashion. There were extreme swings catapulted by lengthy runs from both sides. During points in this game, the Thunder had a game-high 24-point lead and the Suns possessed a 13-point lead.
The first happened in the opening minutes. After trailing 17-4 following the first six minutes, the Thunder rattled off 10 consecutive points to get out of the early double-digit hole.
The Thunder — surprisingly enough — had a 28-24 lead after the first frame. The second quarter saw OKC carry over the momentum it built from the first period with a 38-point effort. After trailing by 13 points, the Thunder finished the first half on a 62-35 run to enter halftime with a 66-52 lead.
As the Thunder built a 24-point advantage, it felt like the Suns let go of the rope. The game was on its way to being meaningless for the remainder of the second half. Instead, Phoenix went on a 23-2 run to enter the fourth quarter with a manageable 89-85 deficit.
The Suns continued to stifle the Thunder and totaled a massive 39-8 second-half run to flip the score and command a six-point lead less than four minutes into the final frame.
Like the beginning of the game, the Thunder couldn’t buy a bucket for a massive stretch of the second half. After that though, OKC suddenly went on another massive run of its own to close out this road win with a 23-8 six-minute stretch.
It’s only fitting the final points scored were on Gilgeous-Alexander’s jumper following the overturned offensive foul. After that basket, OKC had a nine-point lead with less than three minutes left.
The Thunder shot 48% from the field and went 9-of-31 (29%) from 3. They had 16 steals and forced 22 turnovers, which led to 31 points — a massive advantage for OKC considering it outscored Phoenix by 22 points in that area.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with a near 35-point triple-double. Jalen Williams had 22 points and three steals. All five Thunder starters scored double-digit points.
Meanwhile, the Suns — who were without Devin Booker due to an ankle sprain — shot 44% from the field and went 14-of-39 (35.9%) from 3. They dished out 26 assists on 40 baskets and outrebounded OKC, 50-41.
Despite losing the rebounding battle, Daigneault said that’s a sacrifice they’re willing to make to play their brand of basketball. It’s worked considering the Thunder have been one of the best teams in the league despite being one of the worst rebounding squads.
“The trade-offs that we gain with the way we play, the lineups we play, generally have outweighed that,” Daigneault said. “… A lot of nights we lose the rebounding battle. As long as the benefit continues to outweigh the cost, we’re going to continue to accept the trade-offs. We’re not going to be a perfect team.”
Bradley Beal led the way for the Suns with 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting, six assists and seven turnovers. Kevin Durant tallied 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting. Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and a career-high 31 rebounds — which is also a Suns record.
Overall, it was a wild contest that saw the pendulum swing in extreme ways. Both teams went on several massive runs throughout the contest and the Thunder served the final one and survived for the impressive road win.
“We want to be a team that competes fully during those and then grows from them regardless of what side we’re on,” Daigneault said. “Our teams always had great resilience though. I have great respect for our guys as competitors.
“I thought our resilience was on display tonight. I thought our poise was on display in the fourth, they did a great job.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
Playing on national television, Gilgeous-Alexander continues to strengthen his MVP odds by being the best player on the court tonight.
In 38 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander had 35 points on 15-of-27 shooting, nine assists, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks. He shot 5-of-7 from the free-throw line.
The 25-year-old had a strong start with 18 points in the first half. He abnormally had a quiet third quarter, but made up for it with a monster fourth quarter with 11 points in eight minutes. This included scoring eight straight points for OKC as it created space on the scoreboard.
The outside shot didn’t fall, but his inside-the-perimeter shots kept hitting. He made a tough mid-range jumper after a tough mid-range jumper. He also attacked the paint and finished around the rim. Phoenix had no answer for the MVP candidate.
He checked in earlier than he typically did in the fourth quarter, but that was needed in this back-and-forth affair. Gilgeous-Alexander helped lead the Thunder to an impressive road win after seeing their 24-point lead disappear.
“I just always play the game level-headed, always try to play the next possession in front of me,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on surviving the Suns’ second-half run. “Obviously, basketball is a game of runs… So it’s ups and downs, you just got to try to turn the tide and you only do that by taking possession by possession…
“I just try to keep the same mentality no matter what’s going on.”
SGA put the spin move on em'#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @ballysports 📺 pic.twitter.com/2GEu7yXzJz
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 4, 2024
Makin’ moves on the 10-0 Thunder run ⚡ pic.twitter.com/2mPyPjhYol
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 4, 2024
The pass. The finish. 🤌 pic.twitter.com/f0TWEslmlb
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 4, 2024
Jalen Williams: A
Williams was excellent on both sides of the court in the Thunder’s crucial win over the Suns.
In 33 minutes, Williams had 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting, four rebounds, three steals and two assists. He also helped limit Durant to 20 points on 15 shots.
A quiet first half was quickly forgotten about for the second-year forward due to a loud second half. He totaled 15 points, which included eight fourth-quarter points as he played the full 12 minutes.
Like Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams did most of his scoring damage within the perimeter on self-created jumpers and drives to the rim. A stepback jumper with two minutes left was the final touch of OKC’s win.
“You’re never as far or ahead or behind as you think,” Williams said on the massive runs throughout the contest. “Especially in NBA games, we understand that… When we’re able to trust each other to make the right play and stick to it, we did a good job at that.”
Dub on both ends ↔️ pic.twitter.com/6v1STf5siY
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 4, 2024
It starts on defense 😤
Thunder forced 11 turnovers in the first half ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/GNZRT4N3lN
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 4, 2024
The disruptive defense continues 🤒@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/ERmY1iWfc2
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 4, 2024
A little fadeaway action from J-Dub #ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @ballysports 📺 pic.twitter.com/9jtfZxzVIa
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 4, 2024
He does it again! J-Dub drives it all the way to the basket 🏀#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @ballysports 📺 pic.twitter.com/R7bZiVX4gW
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 4, 2024
This guy has absolutely nailed the fadeaway…🤯#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @ballysports 📺 pic.twitter.com/eRIt1RBr4P
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 4, 2024
Chet Holmgren: C
Even though it didn’t cost the Thunder at the end, it felt like Nurkic got the best of Holmgren in this matchup. The seven-foot, 290-pound starter enjoyed a career-best night on the boards.
Holmgren finished with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, nine rebounds and two assists. It was a surprisingly physical outing for the seven-footer as the referees let both teams play it out for the most part.
This included Nurkic hitting Holmgren in the throat in the second half while fighting for positioning. The hit dropped the rookie as he was in pain on the ground for a possession. He later got up and wondered why nothing was called.
Physicality has always been a concern for Holmgren and Nurkic’s massive size is an extreme example of this. Even though the rookie has handled it well for most of the season, tonight was a rough outing in that department.
Never fear Chet Holmgren is here!!! 🦸♂️#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @ballysports 📺 pic.twitter.com/8Da56PYXER
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 4, 2024
Aaron Wiggins: A
The Suns had horrendous ball security as they were without Booker. The Thunder — who are third in steals per game — took advantage of the lack of a true playmaker with 16 steals.
Wiggins led the way with a career-high four steals to go along with his seven points and three rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. He was part of OKC’s closing lineup as he played the full fourth quarter, outplaying two starters in Josh Giddey and Lu Dort.
The third-year wing had a pair of steals that directly led to points in the final frame. He also blocked a Durant jumper. He continues to make winning plays for the Thunder.
“It’s special, everybody sees the ‘he saves basketball’ memes,” Williams said on Wiggins. “I think it’s very underrated hard to come into a game and not really know what’s going on and just be able to plug in right away and kinda do what the team needs.”
Wiggins added on his meme: “It’s just a fun meme, I guess. Shoutout to everybody who thinks I saved basketball.”
Fighting for it in the fourth pic.twitter.com/kbEjXIsYG5
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 4, 2024
Playing with resilience in the 4th quarter ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/LNDk8V6CfN
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 4, 2024
