Thunder sweep Suns 4‑0, first to advance
- Oklahoma City beat Phoenix 131-122 on Monday night, finishing a 4-0 first-round sweep as the defending champions became the 2026 playoffs' first team through. - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points with eight assists in Game 4, and Oklahoma City averaged 122.8 points across the series against Phoenix. - Oklahoma City has now opened consecutive postseasons with sweeps and moves into the West semifinals. (nba.com)
The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 131-122 on Monday, 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 scored 31 points and added eight assists in Game 4 in Phoenix. Chet Holmgren added 24 points and 12 rebounds as Oklahoma City closed the series without needing a Game 5. (nba.com) (espn.com) The series scores were 119-84, 120-107, 121-109 and 131-122. Oklahoma City averaged 122.8 points per game, while Phoenix averaged 105.5. (nba.com) Oklahoma City entered the series as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference after a 64-18 regular season. Phoenix reached the bracket through the play-in and entered as the No. 8 seed. (statmuse.com) (espn.com) The Thunder are also the defending NBA champions, and this sweep kept alive a postseason pattern that opened last year's title run. ESPN reported Oklahoma City started these playoffs the same way it started the 2025 championship run: with a first-round sweep. (nba.com) (espn.com) Game 4 was the closest result of the series, but NBA.com said it was effectively decided when Oklahoma City closed the first half on a 27-12 run. The Thunder shot 54% from the field, went 17-for-34 from 3-point range and hit 26 of 30 free throws. (nba.com) Oklahoma City did it without full health. ESPN reported Jalen Williams missed his second straight game with a left hamstring strain, while Phoenix was also without Mark Williams and Jordan Goodwin in Game 4. (espn.com) The bracket around Oklahoma City is still moving. As of Tuesday's playoff update, the Thunder were through while other Western Conference first-round series were still being played. (espn.com) For Phoenix, the postseason ended four games after surviving the play-in. For Oklahoma City, the title defense is on to round two without a first-round loss. (espn.com) (nba.com)
