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OKC Thunder look to unsettle the Suns power in the paint

By Shontelle Matano

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- DECEMBER 20: Chris Paul #3 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against the Phoenix Suns on December 20, 2019 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- DECEMBER 20: Chris Paul #3 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against the Phoenix Suns on December 20, 2019 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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OKC Thunder
Ricky Rubio #11 of the Phoenix Suns v OKC Thunder (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The OKC Thunder continues to soar as they look to secure their 30th victory of the season. Gameday breaks down the match.

The old saying that in order to succeed we must believe, couldn’t be any more true for the OKC Thunder.

It seems that they are always improving in new facets of the game and they not only know they can win, but they feel it. They look to carry this trend on when they face the Phoenix Suns on Friday evening.

Both the OKC Thunder and Suns are coming off convincing double-digit wins. OKC beat the Sacramento Kings by 20 points while the Suns beat the fifth-placed Dallas Mavericks by 29.

The Suns might be 11th in the Western Conference compared to the 7th place Thunder, but the Suns boast incredible scorers and a solid presence in the paint.

The Thunder’s team effort on both sides of the court is a big reason for why they are doing so well. It hasn’t been easy though, it took them until late November and into December to get this flowing.

Now that they’ve been together, the chemistry couldn’t be any stronger and they know what their role is on the team.

The two sides are basically identical when it comes to offensive rating with OKC sitting in 15th and putting up 110.3 points per game.

Phoenix is 16th in the NBA scoring 110.0 points per night. This shows their similar offensive ability. OKC makes 47.1 percent of their field goals whereas the Suns make 46.3 percent.

In terms of the number of field goals made directly from assists, the Suns are number one in the association at 66.3 percent. This shows the stellar ball movement of the Suns to get the ball out to their open man.

This is fitting considering OKC put their own ball movement on display against the Kings when they scored on an enormous 32 assists.

With that being said let’s have a look at the keys to the game.

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