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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades:
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.
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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.
Gilgeous-Alexander bumper-car’d his way to the rim. He had several driving layups. And when that didn’t happen, the reigning MVP drew plenty of contact. Looks like his whistle does translate to the NBA playoffs, after all. Almost as if he’s impossible to guard one-on-one.
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Not as frequently used tonight, Gilgeous-Alexander’s jumper was deadly. At the mid-range and from the outside. He had 17 points in the first half to keep the Thunder ahead on the scoreboard. He had another 14 points in the second half to put the final touches on another routine Round 1 sweep.
Straight-up NBA superstar stuff. Gilgeous-Alexander made Booker look pedestrian in comparison. You’re seeing an all-time great at the peak of his powers. He’s turned Round 1 matchups into boring sweeps over the last three years. You’re just not supposed to see that in the NBA playoffs. It’s the complete opposite of what this chaotic environment is supposed to be about.
Camping at the dunker’s spot, Holmgren waited for Gilgeous-Alexander to absorb all of Phoenix’s defenders inside the paint. Like a magnet, they left the seven-footer completely open. The reigning MVP calmly dump-passed him the ball for the easy one-handed jam in the final moments.
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Holmgren finished with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, 12 rebounds and three assists. He shot 2-of-5 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws. He also had two steals.
Heading into this Round 1 matchup, Holmgren had all of the advantages on paper. The Suns were without any real size. That teed him up to feast inside the paint for easy buckets. And for the most part, that’s what the All-Star did in this four-game series win — with this being his best game.
Reviewing the film, the Thunder made a cognizant decision to feed Holmgren often — specifically, around the rim. All of their playmakers tallied easy assists as the seven-footer finished over the Suns’ undersized frontcourt. He had 10 points in the first and third quarters, respectively, to really stamp his scoring punch.
Making up for OKC’s worst defensive showing of this Round 1 sweep, Holmgren helped out on the boards. Not the best defensive outing for the Thunder, but that’s what happens when your foot is off the gas a little and the Suns were playing like their lives were on the line. Eventually, things evened out, though. And that reflected on the scoreboard.
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After a career season, Holmgren had an awesome Round 1 matchup. It was tailor-made for him to start these NBA playoffs on a roll. And he took advantage of the platform. He was a complimentary scorer who played within the flow of the offense. And on defense, he anchored three stellar outings as the Suns struggled to get past the century mark.
Isolating on Royce O’Neale, Mitchell pushed the envelope with his scoring liberties. As the Phoenix crowd was back alive in a seven-point contest, the 23-year-old methodically knocked down the pull-up outside jumper. That deflated the building a bit.
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Mitchell finished with 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting, six assists and four rebounds. He shot 4-of-6 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws.
After showing he’s not afraid of the bright lights, Mitchell’s unwavering confidence was rewarded. Jettisoned to the starting lineup because of Williams’ injury, he helped ease some of the scoring load off of Gilgeous-Alexander’s plate. He bumped and bruised his way to the paint for blue-collar finished in packed paints.
When that didn’t happen, Mitchell morphed into a sniper from the outside. He scored nine points in the second quarter on exclusively outside looks. That’s how much he was feeling himself. Helping put this game away, he had seven points in the final frame as he carried the second-unit offense.
Just gutsy stuff from Mitchell. This time last year, he was on the outside of OKC’s rotation. Now, he’s worked his way into the starting lineup — albeit because of injury. Still, though, the 23-year-old has come a long way in a two-season span. He’s given the Thunder another go-to scorer. That’s not something you could’ve said in last year’s title run.
Clanking a free-throw attempt, Hartenstein followed his miss. The old-school basketball rule showed off the 27-year-old’s constant activity. He leaped off the floor and beat out the other nine guys for the loose ball. Pushed from behind by Green, his hustle was rewarded with another free-throw trip.
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Hartenstein finished with 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting, 12 rebounds and three assists. He shot 8-of-9 on free throws. He also had one steal.
Probably valuing the extra rest more than others, Hartenstein left it all on the floor. He had his best game against the Suns in this Round 1 series to ensure the Thunder would have around a week off. He hasn’t really been a scoring threat since his calf problems popped up, but the seven-footer was spoonfed a handful of alley-oops. He even dusted off his patented floater.
The Suns couldn’t contain Hartenstein. They resorted to hacking him. That explains his oddly busy free-throw night. Elsewhere, He helped on the boards and ran some of the second-unit offense through him. It’s been a group effort since Williams went down. His chemistry with some of OKC’s bench players was relied on even more heavily because of it.
The Thunder are back to leaning on the Holmgren-Hartenstein duo to anchor their defense. They’ve seldom played this year because of injury, but last year’s championship run showed how dependable it is at basketball’s highest-stress moments.
Not even a full minute into his first check-in, Caruso already left a footprint at the place formerly called Footprint Center. He stuck with Booker as Green threw an ill-timed pass to him. Instead, the 32-year-old easily intercepted it and ran it back all the way for the two-handed dunk.
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Caruso finished with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, four rebounds and one assist. He shot 4-of-6 from 3. He also had one steal.
Some guys are 16-game players. And Caruso fits that definition seamlessly. Off of the worst outside shooting season of his career, he’s morphed into a flamethrower for this Round 1 matchup. The NBA playoffs have rejuvenated his outside jumper and chaotic style of defense.
To keep pace with the Suns’ blitzing start, Caruso had 11 points in the first quarter. After a third outside make, he went for a heat check that barely missed. Even though his jumper eventually cooled off, he was a must-play the rest of the way. Simply from what he did on defense.
When Caruso was quarterbacking his Thunder teammates, he anticipated the Suns’ offense. Booker never really looked comfortable in this Round 1 series. And Green reverted to being a high-volume, low-efficiency scorer. You can thank the 32-year-old for a lot of that.
