Thunder up 2–0

Oklahoma City protected home court in a playoff week when plenty of other favorites did not, beating Phoenix 120-107 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 series lead. (apnews.com) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points and handed out nine assists for the Thunder in Game 2 at Paycom Center. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams added 19 points each. (apnews.com) The game turned in the third quarter, when Oklahoma City outscored Phoenix 35-20 after leading 65-57 at halftime. The Thunder finished with 14 steals and forced 21 Suns turnovers while committing 10 themselves. (basketball.realgm.com) Phoenix got 30 points from Dillon Brooks, 22 from Devin Booker and 21 from Jalen Green, but the Suns did not get enough clean possessions to erase the gap. Booker also had six turnovers, and Green had seven. (basketball.realgm.com) That result stood out because the opening round has already produced several early road pushbacks after home teams swept Game 1s. The Washington Post reported that, among the first six series to reach two games, road teams had won four Game 2s. (washingtonpost.com) Oklahoma City entered the bracket as the West’s No. 1 seed and defending NBA champion, so a 2-0 start keeps the pressure on an eighth-seeded Suns team that came through the play-in. NBA.com’s playoff bracket lists the Thunder-Suns series with Oklahoma City ahead 2-0 and Game 3 set for Saturday, April 25, in Phoenix. (nba.com) The first round uses a 2-2-1-1-1 format, which means the higher seed hosts Games 1, 2, 5 and 7. The Thunder used that edge, plus a 64-18 regular-season record, to hold serve before the series shifts to Arizona. (espn.com) Wednesday’s national schedule paired Pistons-Magic with Suns-Thunder in an ESPN doubleheader. By the end of the night, Detroit had evened its series at 1-1, while Oklahoma City was one of the few top seeds to leave Game 2 with control intact. (jsonline.com) Now the series moves to Phoenix with the Suns down two games and the Thunder two wins from the second round. Oklahoma City has done the part a No. 1 seed is supposed to do first: win both games at home. (nba.com)