The Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a series-clinching 131-122 road win in Game 4 against the Phoenix Suns on Monday. It was the Thunder’s third consecutive sweep postseason of a first-round opponent.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led six Thunder players in double-figure scoring with a game-high 31 points. Chet Holmgren added 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder, who shot 50 percent (17 of 34) from the 3-point range and 86 percent (26 of 30) from the free-throw line in the closeout game.
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Devin Booker led Phoenix with 24 points and six assists. Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green each added 23 points, and Collin Gillespie finished with 20 points and made six 3-pointers.
Oklahoma City will now await the series winner between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets. Here are some takeaways from Monday’s Game 4.
A well-oiled machine at work
This sweep felt written on the wall.
In Game 4, and really since the moment Jalen Williams went down, Oklahoma City kept the Suns at arm’s length. Phoenix can’t say it didn’t try. It let Dillon Brooks tag Gilgeous-Alexander for the night. It played rookie Rasheer Fleming real minutes. It had another (relatively) low turnover game and some encouraging spurts of offense. Devin Booker even showed face.
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But breaking news: Gilgeous-Alexander and his crew are a well-oiled machine.
Gilgeous-Alexander, when he escaped Brooks’ grasp for air, coasted to an unsurprising 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Chet Holmgren caught lobs. Isaiah Hartenstein, who had 18 points and 12 rebounds, wrestled away boards. Alex Caruso made heady, disruptive defensive plays and had 14 points off the bench. Ajay Mitchell, still not shy with shot attempts, looked much more comfortable as he contributed 22 points and six assists.
Phoenix, much like the rest of this series, never quite moved the meter Monday. And Oklahoma City made quick work of this series in an otherwise explosive round. — Joel Lorenzi
More Booker was needed
Devin Booker has been a popular topic in Phoenix for most of this series. And not for usual reasons. This won’t end anytime soon.
The Suns star didn’t exactly struggle in this series, he just did not make the impact everyone expected. The Thunder tried to limit Booker as much as possible — and Booker seemed content with finding open teammates.
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That’s fine. It’s what makes Booker the player he is, a five-time All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist. But at some point in this series, Booker needed to force his will instead of letting the Thunder force theirs. That’s what stars do. In an elimination game, Booker had two points and five turnovers at halftime. He didn’t make his first field goal until early in the third quarter. That’s unacceptable.
Booker got more aggressive as Game 4 unfolded, which only made people wonder why he didn’t do so earlier.
Booker, 29, isn’t going anywhere. Last July, he signed a two-year, $145 max extension that will keep him in Phoenix through the 2029-30 season. That’s what made his performance against the Thunder so troubling. As face of the franchise, he needed to do so much more. — Doug Haller