The Oklahoma City Thunder were frequently dominant while posting the NBA’s best record this season.
But they flipped a switch on Sunday into playoff mode as they began their quest for a second straight NBA championship in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Phoenix Suns.
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The Suns managed to keep things close in the opening minutes of a game that was tied at 12-12. But the Thunder closed the first quarter on a 23-8 run to enter the second with a 35-20 lead. From there, it was a runaway for a 119-84 OKC win.
It wasn’t quite the opening salvo the Thunder delivered in their playoff opener last season, a 131-80 thrashing of the Memphis Grizzlies. But it puts them in elite company.
Per ESPN, the Thunder are now the second team in NBA history to post a 30-plus point win in in a second consecutive playoff opener The other team to do it? The 1986-87 Showtime Los Angeles Lakers.
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The 1985-86 Lakers opened their playoffs with a 135-88 drubbing of the San Antonio Spurs. Those playoffs ended in a loss to the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference finals.
Their next postseason started with a 128-95 win over the Denver Nuggets. Those playoffs ended with a win over the rival Boston Celtics for the fourth NBA championship of the Showtime era. They followed up with another championship the following season, this time with a win over the Detroit Pistons in the Finals.
Familiar scene in OKC
The Thunder looked very much Sunday like the unit that won the franchise’s first NBA championship last season since moving to Oklahoma City. They locked down on defense, limiting the Suns to 35% shooting from the field while forcing 17 turnovers and blocking seven shots.
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Those turnovers led to repeated easy buckets on the other end as the Thunder scored 30-plus points in each of Sunday’s first three quarters.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled form the field (5 of 18) but, as usual, got the job done at the free throw line in a 15-of-17 effort. He led the Thunder with 25 points and seven assists. He was one of three Thunder players alongside Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein to record two blocks.
After a regular season hampered by injury, Jalen Williams was back in All-NBA form with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block and 1 steal in an efficient shooting effort (9 of 15 from the field, 2 of 5 from 3).
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This is similar to how things started last postseason as the Thunder won a championship. And all is well so far in Oklahoma City’s quest for a second straight title.
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