OKC Thunder Outlast Suns In a Game of Runs

The Oklahoma City Thunder withstood multiple Suns runs, and three lead changes, to earn a big win on the front end of a back-to-back.

Basketball is a game of runs, and on Sunday the Suns and Thunder battled through many of them. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder started out slow, getting down 13 before the seven-minute mark causing Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault to dip into his bench early bringing Gordon Hayward in for Josh Giddey.

The shooting threat of Hayward allowed the Thunder to handle the Suns 17-4 run, countering with a 24-7 run of their own to close the opening frame. That success spilled over into the second quarter, as Oklahoma City's active defense forced ten first-half turnovers leading to use buckets and swelling their lead to 20.

Eventually growing a 24-point lead out of intermission, the Suns would not go quietly into the night. Phoenix pulled off an avalanche like 36-8 scoring run to pull ahead by six.

Just as things started to look bleak for the Bricktown boys, as the Suns crowd reached a fevers pitch, Oklahoma City flipped the switch again on both ends. Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way on offense creating and finishing tough shots to demoralize the Suns who were playing on their heels at that point. 

OKC answered Phoenix's 36-8 run with a 21-8 scoring sprint to help them build an eight point lead. Gilgeous-Alexander finishes with 35 points, nine assists, eight rebounds, two blocks and three steals. Williams ended with 22 points, four rebounds, two assists, and three steals. 

Every Thunder started notched double-figures, while Aaron Wiggins (7), Isaiah Joe (8) and Cason Wallace (5) produced over five points off the pine. 

Oklahoma City gave up 31 rebounds to Jusuf Nurkic but made up for it by forcing 21 Suns turnovers to create an advantage in transition. 

Up next, the Oklahoma City Thunder will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers on the second night of a back-to-back, continuing this West Coast swing. This win pushes Oklahoma City to sole possession off first place in the Western Conference. 

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