Thunder sweep Suns to advance

Oklahoma City closed out Phoenix 131-122 on Monday night, finishing a 4-0 first-round sweep and becoming the first team into the Western Conference semifinals. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 31 points and eight assists in Game 4, and Chet Holmgren added 24 points and 12 rebounds. Devin Booker scored 24 points for Phoenix, while Dillon Brooks added 23. (youtube.com) (foxsports.com) The series was lopsided from the start: Oklahoma City won Game 1 by 35 points, Game 2 by 13, Game 3 by 12, and Game 4 by nine. The Thunder averaged 122.8 points across the four games, while Phoenix averaged 105.5. (nba.com) Oklahoma City entered the matchup as the West’s No. 1 seed after a 64-18 regular season, and Phoenix came in as the No. 8 seed. The bracket now sends the Thunder into the second round while the Suns’ season ends in the first round. (espn.com) (nba.com) The Thunder’s edge showed up on both ends. NBA.com’s series summary listed Oklahoma City ahead in points, rebounds and assists, with Gilgeous-Alexander averaging 33.8 points and 8.0 assists for the series. (nba.com) Phoenix never held Oklahoma City below 109 points in any game, and the Suns’ defense could not slow a Thunder rotation that kept scoring beyond its starters. NBA.com said Oklahoma City’s bench production was part of what carried the sweep. (nba.com) The playoff schedule had the first round opening on April 18, and Oklahoma City wrapped its series on April 27, giving the Thunder an early path into the conference semifinals. (nba.com) Four games were enough. The top seed in the West moved on without a loss, and Phoenix’s postseason ended before any other first-round series was finished. (nba.com) (espn.ph)