Oklahoma City Thunder beat Phoenix Suns 120-107 at home on Wednesday, April 22, never trailing at a quarter break.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Thunder struck first, taking the opening quarter 30-29 and a 1-point lead after one. The Thunder kept the pressure on with a 35-28 second quarter, carrying a 8-point lead into halftime.
The Thunder won the third 35-20 to create some separation, taking a 23-point lead into the fourth. The Suns took the fourth 30-20; the Thunder held on for a 120-107 regulation win.
What decided it
The Thunder took better care of the ball, turning it over on 10% of possessions compared with 20.9% for the Suns. The Thunder got more from their shots, finishing at 54.9% effective field-goal shooting compared with 52.4% for the Suns. Those extra possessions were crucial.
The Suns did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 34.9% against 29.3%. The Thunder made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 100 possessions per team, the Thunder produced 119.6 points per 100 possessions to 106.6 for the Suns.
Who made the difference
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the game's biggest individual force for OKC: 37 pts, 5 reb, 9 ast on 13-25 shooting. His Game Score of 30.5 led everyone. His team was +16 with him on the floor.
Royce O'Neale led the Suns with 16 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast on 4-5 shooting, good for a 18.8 Game Score.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Thunder about a 82% chance.
Across the last 9 meetings in our records, Oklahoma City Thunder lead 7-2.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.