The Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Phoenix Suns 121-109 to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference first-round series on Saturday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 42 points, while Ajay Mitchell added 15 in place of the injured Jalen Williams. Alex Caruso added 13 points off the bench while Chet Holmgren had 10 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.
The reigning MVP hit 15 of 18 shots on a variety of tough looks, frustrating a Suns defense that actually played decently for much of the game.
On the other hand, Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 33 points on 11-of-21 shooting while Jalen Green added 26. Devin Booker finished with 16 points and seven assists.
The Thunder took an 87-79 lead after three quarters and never trailed in the fourth.
Gilgeous-Alexander sank a 19-foot jumper to put the Thunder up 102-87 with about five minutes left.
Oklahoma City was leading 69-60 early in the third quarter when Booker hurt his left ankle on a drive to the basket.
The five-time All-Star returned a few minutes later to huge cheers from the home crowd, making a short baseline jumper and a 3-pointer to cut the Thunder’s lead to 75-69.
Oklahoma City scored the next six points to turn back the rally.
The Suns took an early 24-15 lead, but the Thunder erased the deficit in a hurry, hitting four 3-pointers during a 16-3 run.
A tight clash throughout the rest of the first half, with the Thunder surging ahead late in the second quarter to a 62-53 lead.
Gilgeous-Alexander made all seven of his shots before the break to lead the Thunder with 17 points. Brooks scored 13 for the Suns.
Meanwhile, for the Thunder, they played without Williams, the high-scoring guard who hurt his left hamstring in Game 2.
While the Suns played without center Mark Williams (foot) and guard Jordan Goodwin (calf). Grayson Allen returned from a hamstring injury and scored seven points in 17 minutes.
The defending champion Thunder will go for the sweep in Game 4 on Monday in Phoenix.
