The No. 1 seed in the West did No. 1 seed things.
The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Phoenix Suns 120-107 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.
The Thunder led by as many as 26, but the Suns — powered by 30 points from Dillon Brooks — cut the lead to 10 late in the fourth quarter. But that’s how good OKC is. The lead stayed double-digits despite the team losing Jalen Williams to a hamstring injury and the game was never really in doubt as OKC closed things out.
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Here are the key takeaways for a Thunder win in which they look very tough to beat:
SGA remains a difficult puzzle to solve
It’s apparent the Suns’ primary, secondary and tertiary defensive order of operations are centered around slowing down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The reigning league and Finals MVP, one of the most efficient scorers in recent NBA history, is seeing a swarm of bodies on seemingly every turn and catch of the ball.
Phoenix, one of the league’s most proficient turnover-causing teams, displayed a number of different defensive approaches on SGA — switching, pressuring and even reverting to a box-and-1 — in attempts to keep Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring at bay, but it was to no avail. Outside of a few early misses, the bulk of which were good looks, Gilgeous-Alexander had his way with the Suns, using his random, jittery motion to keep Phoenix off-balance and finishing with a game-high 37 points.
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The Suns’ best chance at guarding SGA, Dillon Brooks, was routinely switched off. courtesy of smart and timely Thunder screens. It’s hard enough slowing down a juggernaut like the Thunder even when their best player is struggling, like he was in Game 1. If he’s able to maintain a scoring rhythm like he did in Game 2, this series won’t last much longer.
A ‘big’ problem
Simply put, the Suns need more from Oso Ighodaro in this series. With starting center Mark Williams sidelined with a foot injury, head coach Jordan Ott called upon the second-year big to fill the void — but the lights appeared to be too bright for the 23-year-old.
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In the opening minutes of the first quarter, Ighodaro missed two point-blank chances at the rim, the first after a smart screen-and-slip and the second failing to convert over the much smaller Gilgeous-Alexander. At the other end, he appeared out of his depth physically against Isaiah Hartenstein and picked up two early fouls that forced Ott to turn to Khaman Maluach, the seldom-used rookie big, to attempt to stabilize the Suns.
Maluach’s first action was converting an emphatic two-handed alley-oop, quite the contrast to Ighodaro’s inability to make good on his clear-cut opportunities. Maluach took a wild 3-point attempt in the second quarter during a pivotal stretch of back-and-forth play, but otherwise offered solid output, being the preferred option down the stretch and finishing a team-best +10. Ighodaro had a better second half — but still finished -23, worst among all starters. A “better second half” won’t cut it against an OKC team of this caliber.
What can the Suns do?
Headed back to Phoenix in a 2-0 hole, it might be time for the Suns to consider a lineup change. One of their calling cards during an impressive season has been their roster flexibility, with multiple plug-and-play options that can perform when called upon.
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Veteran forward Royce O’Neale, with 50 games of playoff experience under his belt, showcased why he deserves a nod heading into Game 3.
O’Neale has built a reputation for years as a switchable, hard-nosed, stable 3&D type, able to adequately space the floor, be a positive connector and also defend at a high level. Among players who took at least five 3s per game and appeared in 45 regular-season games, O’Neale posted the NBA’s ninth-best 3-point percentage at 40.8.
He seized his opportunity off the bench Wednesday night, scoring 11 points in 17 first-half minutes, hitting all three of his perimeter looks and adding 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. (He finished the game with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.) In addition to his ability to guard multiple positions, a much-needed skillset against the best team in basketball, there should be a place for O’Neale — who started 67 games this year — to reclaim his spot.
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