Oklahoma City Thunder beat Phoenix Suns 131-122 on the road on Monday, April 27 in a shootout, with the two teams combining for 253 points.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Thunder struck first, taking the opening quarter 37-33 and a 4-point lead after one. The Thunder kept the pressure on with a 38-34 second quarter, carrying a 8-point lead into halftime.
The teams matched each other with 31 points apiece in the third quarter, so the Thunder remained ahead by 8 entering the fourth. The Thunder took the fourth 25-24; the Thunder finished the job for a 131-122 regulation win.
What decided it
The Thunder made 31.7 free throws per 100 field-goal attempts, compared with 13.3 for the Suns. The Thunder grabbed 36.1% of their own misses, while the Suns recovered 27.8%. The points at the line gave them room for error elsewhere.
The Suns did win one battle, ball security: TOV% of 12.1 against 16.3. The Thunder made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 99 possessions per team, the Thunder produced 132.8 points per 100 possessions to 123.7 for the Suns.
Who made the difference
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the game's biggest individual force for OKC: 31 pts, 2 reb, 8 ast on 10-17 shooting. His Game Score of 25.4 led everyone. His team was -7 with him on the floor.
Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 23 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast on 10-19 shooting, good for a 18.3 Game Score.
Chet Holmgren (24 pts, 12 reb, 3 ast) and Isaiah Hartenstein (18 pts, 12 reb, 3 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 62% for the Thunder.
Across the last 11 meetings in our records, Oklahoma City Thunder lead 9-2.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.