Thunder complete sweep of Suns to reach Western Conference semis - ESPN

PHOENIX — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, Chet Holmgren added 24 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 131-122 on Monday night, capping a four-game sweep in their Western Conference first-round series.

The Thunder — who have a 12-0 record in the first round over the past three seasons — will face the winner of the Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets series in the West semifinals. The Lakers have a 3-1 lead though the Rockets won Game 4 at home.

Phoenix has a 10-game losing streak in the playoffs, dating to 2023.

The Thunder closed the series with an overwhelming offensive performance — making 17 of 34 (50%) 3-pointers — and their big men played particularly well. The 7-foot-1 Holmgren shot 9-of-16 from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds, and the 7-foot Isaiah Hartenstein added 18 points and 12 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.

Ajay Mitchell added 22 points and made four 3-pointers. Alex Caruso finished with 14 points and hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter.

Gilgeous-Alexander was reliable as usual. Two days after scoring 42 points in Game 3, he had another efficient performance, shooting 10-of-17 from the field.

The Suns showed some fight in the second half, cutting a 15-point deficit to 106-98 entering the fourth. Devin Booker scored 12 points in the third quarter on 5-of-8 shooting.

But every time the Suns got to within a few possessions of tying the score, the Thunder responded. Cason Wallace hit a corner 3 with 5:54 left to extend the Oklahoma City lead to 120-106. Gilgeous-Alexander followed with a spectacular layup, somehow getting the shot to fall over three defenders.

Booker led the Suns with 24 points, and Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green each had 23. Collin Gillespie added