OKC Thunder earn statement win over Suns

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points and five rebounds to power the OKC Thunder through a 124-120 win over the Phoenix Suns, tallying their fourth win in the last five games.

Phoenix guard Devin Booker scored 46 points on 64 percent shooting in the loss. Chris Paul added 14 points to go along with 13 assists. This marks the Sun’s fourth loss in their last five games.

The OKC Thunder earned a statement win over the Suns on Sunday, thanks to a massive outburst by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The Suns were in the driver’s seat in the two quarters as they went into halftime up by 12 points, led by 16-point half from Devin Booker alone.

However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points in the first half to keep the Thunder above water and a comeback opportunity in sight. Gilgeous-Alexander ended the third quarter with an and-1 at the rim to shrink Phoenix’s lead to 6 points heading into the fourth quarter.

The Thunder took the game into their own hands with an 18-2 run after the Suns went up 100-96. Aaron Wiggins was able to even the game up at 100-100 with a layup at the rim.

Then, Lu Dort put Oklahoma City up 103-102 with a dazzling triple from beyond the arc, leaving around seven minutes left on the clock. The Thunder extended the lead to six points before forcing the Suns to call a timeout and go into foul mode.

The win put the Thunder in the 8th seed for the time being, bringing their record to 35-36, winning seven of their last ten games. OKC sits just a game back of the sixth seed in the Western Conference, and two and a half games away from the fifth seed. On Tuesday, the OKC Thunder will travel to Los Angeles to face off against the Clippers which will kick off a tough West coast swing.