Thunder Take 2–0 Lead
- Oklahoma City beat Phoenix in Game 2 to take a 2–0 lead in their first‑round playoff series. (x.com) - Shai Gilgeous‑Alexander scored 37 points with nine assists, five rebounds and two steals in that win. (x.com) - That marked his 29th postseason game scoring 25 or more points, increasing pressure on Phoenix as the series moves forward. (x.com) (x.com)
Oklahoma City is heading to Phoenix up 2-0 after a 120-107 win over the Suns in Game 2 on Wednesday, April 22. (nba.com) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 37 points, nine assists and five rebounds in 38 minutes, shooting 13-for-25 from the field and 9-for-9 at the line. Phoenix cut the margin to 13 late, but Oklahoma City closed it out at Paycom Center. (espn.com) (foxsports.com) The series had already tilted hard in Game 1, when Oklahoma City won 119-84 on Sunday, April 19. Through two games, the Thunder have outscored Phoenix by 48 points. (nba.com) That puts the pressure on a Suns team that reached the bracket through the Play-In Tournament and now has to defend home court in Game 3 on Saturday, April 25, in Phoenix. The first-round matchup is a 1-versus-8 series, with Oklahoma City listed by the league as the defending NBA champion. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Gilgeous-Alexander’s 37-point night was his 29th career postseason game with at least 25 points. That number matters in this matchup because Phoenix has not kept him out of the paint or off the foul line through the first two games. (nba.com) (espn.com) Phoenix got 30 points from Dillon Brooks in Game 2, but that was not enough to erase Oklahoma City’s control for most of the night. In Game 1, the Suns managed only 84 points and trailed by 21 at halftime. (indystar.com) (espn.com) The schedule now shifts to Arizona for Games 3 and 4, with Game 4 set for Monday, April 27. If Phoenix cannot slow Gilgeous-Alexander there, the Thunder will head home with a chance to end the series on April 29. (nba.com)
