The Phoenix Suns finished the regular season with a lopsided 135-103 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night at Paycom Center, using a reserve-heavy lineup to dominate the game from the opening minutes.
Phoenix was already locked into the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, while Oklahoma City had secured the top overall seed earlier in the week and rested nearly its entire rotation.
Jamaree Bouyea led the Suns with career highs of 27 points and nine assists, controlling the offense and pushing the pace against a Thunder group that was also missing most of its starters.
Ryan Dunn added 20 points and 11 rebounds, giving Phoenix a strong two-way presence on the wing and helping the Suns win the battle on the glass.
Koby Brea matched Dunn with 20 points, giving the Suns another efficient scoring option as they shot 55% from the field and 49% from three-point range.
The game was effectively decided early, as Phoenix ripped off a 21-0 run to open a 26-5 lead and never looked back.
The Suns carried a 70-52 advantage into halftime behind 18 first-half points from Dunn and 16 from Bouyea, then stretched the margin to 104-77 by the end of the third quarter.
Phoenix’s depth was the difference, with multiple contributors attacking closeouts and producing clean looks without any of its starters on the floor.
Oklahoma City still got a career-high 26 points from Branden Carlson and 23 points from Payton Sandfort, but the Thunder could not keep pace after sitting starters for the second straight game.
Lu Dort played 20 minutes to meet award-eligibility requirements and finished with six points, but the rest of the Thunder’s regular rotation remained out.
The loss snapped Oklahoma City’s two-game slide into rare territory, as it marked the first time since late January that the Thunder dropped consecutive games.
Phoenix finished the regular season at 45-37 and will now prepare for Tuesday’s play-in game, where it will host either Portland or the Los Angeles Clippers.
A win would give the Suns the No. 7 seed and a first-round matchup with San Antonio, while a loss would send them into another play-in game for the final playoff berth.
