PHOENIX — Splitting a pair of Phoenix defenders, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went after a couple more. Going up for the circus up-and-under layup, Dillon Brooks and Oso Ighodaro barely made contact. The reigning MVP butterflied in a wild layup that peaked high and fell through the net.
The Oklahoma City Thunder completed another Round 1 sweep with a 131-122 Game 4 win over the Phoenix Suns. They've now punched their ticket to Round 2 of the 2026 NBA playoffs — the first team to do so.
To start things off, the Thunder and Suns put up video-game-esque numbers. Neither could really miss from the field. The two upper-echeleon defenses had been sliced through in Phoenix's now-or-never scenario. Alex Caruso had his outside jumper resurrected. Collin Gillespie was the Suns' counterpart for a random role-player explosion.
The Thunder had a 37-33 lead after the first quarter. Manning a league-best defense, they've shown the ability to win in several different ways. This was another example of that. After being ice-cold from deep for most of the series, the Suns finally enjoyed some outside shooting luck.
Looking like the best they've looked all series, the Suns turned things up with a 24-9 run. On a tap-out offensive rebound, Jalen Green knocked down an outside jumper. That had the Phoenix crowd rocking. The Thunder were in a 55-48 deficit with a little over five minutes left in the first half. It was honestly the most razzled OKC has looked throughout the Round 1 series.
And then, the Thunder calmed things down. Back to your regularly scheduled programming. They closed out the first half strongly. To the point they regained the lead. On the final first-half possession, Gilgeous-Alexander had enough time to look down and check his feet were behind the perimeter before he knocked down an open catch-and-shoot look.
The Thunder had 38 points in the second frame. They entered halftime with a 75-67 lead over the Suns. If you're the eighth seed, you gotta feel beyond demoralized — moreso defeated. Even when you have your best half of their Round 1 matchup, OKC is still comfortably ahead.
Coming out of the break, the Thunder piled on. Ajay Mitchell pushed their lead to 97-82 with a little under five minutes to go in the third frame. Going for one last push, Devin Booker showed glimpses of playing like the perennial All-Star he usually is. He flung the ball up in the air as it dropped in for a highlight and-one play on Lu Dort. The Suns crowd got right back into it.
In the end, both teams scored 31 points apiece in the third frame. That left things the same. The Thunder had a 106-98 lead with the fourth quarter to go. That's when Mitchell took over. In only his second playoff start, he became OKC's closeout-time bucket-getter. An honor bestowed on him thanks to Jalen Williams' injury.
Along with Chet Holmgren, the Thunder had a pair of 20-point scorers to help Gilgeous-Alexander seal this Round 1 series sweep. They scored 25 points in the final frame to keep their distance on the scoreboard. The Suns got it to within single-digit points, but no serious last-gasp run was made. Instead, just boring dominance as Phoenix fans filed out.
The Thunder shot 54% from the field and went 17-of-34 (50%) from 3. They shot 26-of-30 on free throws. They had 28 assists on 44 baskets. Six Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points and eight assists. Holmgren helped with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Mitchell stepped up with 22 points and six assists. Isaiah Hartenstein tallied 18 points and 12 rebounds. Caruso had 14 points and four rebounds. Cason Wallace put up 10 points and four assists.
Meanwhile, the Suns shot 53% from the field and went 14-of-39 (35.9%) from 3. They shot 12-of-16 on free throws. They had 24 assists on 48 baskets. Five Suns players scored double-digit points.
Booker finished with 24 points and six assists. Dillon Brooks tallied 23 points and four rebounds. Jalen Green had 23 points and six rebounds. Gilliespie dropped 20 points. Grayson Allen had 12 points.
No messing around for the Thunder. You could say that's been their motto since they turned into an NBA juggernaut. Most teams in OKC's spot would sleepwalk their way through Game 4 and just wrap this series up back at home. Nope. They wanted to get this one done as soon as possible. It was obvious from the jump that the talent discrepancy was too wide between these teams to suggest anything other than this outcome.
Now, the Thunder get a chance to chill until their Round 2 opponent is figured out. Likely the Los Angeles Lakers, but until things are official, they get to earn some additional rest — a luxury they badly need as Williams hopes to return from a third hamstring strain soon. And considering OKC doesn't plan to fly back until Tuesday morning, think they even showed their hand a beat at how confident they felt of finishing off the Suns here.
Running the fastbreak, Gilgeous-Alexander lowered his shoulders. Slithering through multiple Phoenix defenders trying to jab the ball away from him, he finally got one on Gillespie. He bumped his way through him for the off-balance and-one as the ball kissed off the glass.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting, eight assists and two rebounds. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and went 9-of-11 on free throws. He also had one block.
After another Round 1 sweep, Gilgeous-Alexander has finally erased the Round 1 allegations. No longer can folks say he's underwhelmed in that stage of the NBA playoffs. Instead, he turned it up from the jump. He was a one-man wrecking crew that slowly eroded any sense of wonder-boy optimism the Suns might've had at having a puncher's chance to upset the Thunder.
Once again, Gilgeous-Alexander dissected the Suns at all four scoring levels. Throwing a rotation's worth of defenders at him, the Suns simply didn't possess the personnel to limit the walking 30-point bucket. Nobody in the NBA truly does. For the fourth and final time, he tore apart Phoenix's defense — which was proudly in the top-10 of defensive rating.