PHOENIX — The Oklahoma City Thunder wrapped up a 4-0 first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, winning Game 4, 131-122, and punching their ticket to the Western Conference semifinals.
The victory marks the third straight postseason in which Oklahoma City has opened the playoffs with a sweep as the conference’s No. 1 seed. Under head coach Mark Daigneault, the defending champions are 12-0 in first-round games.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 31 points and eight assists, capping a series in which he averaged 33.8 points and 8.0 assists. The All-Star guard was one of six Thunder players in double figures Monday, joined by Chet Holmgren with 24 points and Ajay Mitchell with 22.
“It’s a really good feeling,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “As a group, it’s good to get the playoff run started off that way. You want to give yourself as many days as you can to rest.”
Oklahoma City narrowly missed becoming just the fourth defending champion to sweep the opening round with double-digit wins in every game, falling one point short of that mark in Game 4.
The Thunder now await the winner of the Houston Rockets–Los Angeles Lakers series. Los Angeles holds a 3-1 lead and can close out the Rockets at home in Game 5 on Wednesday.
Suns exit, but see progress
For Phoenix, the loss closes a season that saw significant turnover. After missing last year’s playoffs, the Suns hired first-time head coach Jordan Ott, traded Kevin Durant to Houston, and waived Bradley Beal. Despite projections that they would again fall short, the team improved by nine wins to finish 45-37.
“We’re supposed to be a laughingstock, a losing team, from all media and whoever else said it,” forward Dillon Brooks said. “We proved a lot of people wrong, and that’s just because we had heart.”
Franchise cornerstone Devin Booker, who scored 30 points in the finale, praised Gilgeous-Alexander as “the MVP of the league” and credited Ott for fostering a new competitive culture. “We still have some learning to do. This was a great test for us,” Booker said.
Oklahoma City advances, Phoenix regroups, and the Western bracket now turns its attention to Wednesday’s potential closeout game in Los Angeles.
Source: ESPN.com
