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'Loudest I’ve heard it': Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Joe lead Thunder rally vs. Suns
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- 'Loudest I’ve heard it': Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Joe lead Thunder rally vs. Suns
Thunder fans held their breath when Isaiah Joe released the shot. And when Joe's shot dropped, it didn't sound like an exhalation. More like an eruption.
The Thunder beat the Suns 124-120 on Sunday afternoon at Paycom Center . It was one of those handful of wins that defines a season.
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"It was a big game tonight, and it felt like it," said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , who dropped 40 points.
Sounded like the old days.
"Loudest I've heard it in my two years with the Thunder," said Josh Giddey , who had 16 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Joe's 3-pointer capped an 18-2 Thunder run to start the fourth quarter.
The Thunder (35-36) is playing meaningful March basketball at least a year sooner than anybody could have reasonably expected.
Phoenix was missing Kevin Durant and Deandre Ayton, but the Suns played like the better team early on. Phoenix led by as many as 15 points before the Thunder stormed back.
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"The key to that type of win is staying alive long enough until the game turns," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
The game turned before Joe's big 3-pointer, but never was it louder than after that basket.
"The crowd was the difference in the game tonight," Daigneault said. "That was huge. We need that every night, every home game, from here on out."
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stars for Thunder
The Thunder didn't have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in its first two games against the Suns. Both losses.
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Gilgeous-Alexander powered the win Sunday.
Nothing came easy for SGA, especially early.
But Gilgeous-Alexander kept attacking. Kept finding his cracks.
Gilgeous-Alexander received MVP chants when he went to the free throw line with 10 seconds left.
It was his sixth 40-point game of the season. He scored 40 points on 24 shots and went 16-of-19 from the free throw line.
Only Giannis Antetokounmpo has more 40-point games than SGA this season without making a 3-pointer. SGA didn't even attempt a three against the Suns.
"I never felt like I had to shoot a three, so I didn't," SGA said matter of factly.
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Oklahoma City's Josh Giddey (3) attempts a layup in front of Phoenix's Bismack Biyombo during Sunday's game at Paycom Center.
Lu Dort fights through Devin Booker assignment
Lu Dort's offense, yes, offense, kept the Thunder afloat in the third quarter.
Dort scored 11 points in the third quarter on 4-of-6 shooting. He made three 3-pointers in the third quarter, the last of which gave the Thunder its first lead of the second half.
Dort was the Thunder's second-leading scorer Sunday with 20 points, but the guy he was guarding exploded for 46 points.
That would be Devin Booker.
Booker isn't just a shotmaker. He's a maker of tough shots … after tough shots, after tough shots.
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The Suns superstar seemed unbothered by the Dort blanket he wore.
Booker only needed an inch of space to make the Thunder pay.
Booker scored 44 points in 27 minutes in his last game against the Thunder. He scored 46 points in 36 minutes Sunday.
Dort got the last laugh though, making a pair of clutch free throws to ice the game.
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Thunder guard Isaiah Joe (11) celebrates after making a 3-point basket against the Suns during the second half of a 124-120 win Sunday at Paycom Center.
Aaron Wiggins provides late spark
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander likes to say that Aaron Wiggins is a "basketball player."
Is he ever.
"Wiggs came in and saved the day," Gilgeous-Alexander told Thunder reporter Nick Gallo on the walk-off interview.
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Wiggins played all but three seconds of the fourth quarter after sitting for the first three quarters. It's fair to wonder why Wiggins doesn't play more, or get into the game sooner, but the timing of his entrance lit a spark at the perfect moment.
"These guys are trained to be ready in every situation and to keep themselves live," Daigneault said. "I just thought we needed a little bit of juice."
Wiggins was asked what he was thinking when his name was finally called.
"Make something happen," Wiggins said.
The Thunder outscored the Suns by eight points with Wiggins on the floor. Only Isaiah Joe (+12) and SGA (+10) had better plus/minuses.
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"He's gonna give you toughness and defense," Daigneault said, "and he didn't disappoint … His readiness is something else."
It sounds easier said than done, like a closer sitting in the bullpen waiting until the ninth inning. Does he ever get anxious, though, not knowing when he's going to play?
"I'm anxious in the car on the way to the arena," Wiggins said with a laugh. "I want to play every game."
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Darius Bazley returns to OKC
Darius Bazley said he'd never been in the visitor's locker room at Paycom Center until Sunday, when the former Thunder forward returned to Oklahoma City for the first time since he was traded to the Suns.
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"Everything's weird," Bazley told The Oklahoman. "Even going onto the court, entering from the other side."
Bazley, drafted in 2019, played in 221 games for the Thunder. He was a full-time starter for most of two seasons before his playing time took a steep decline this season.
He was the Thunder's longest-tenured players before being dealt to the Suns at the trade deadline. The Thunder received Dario Saric and a second-round pick while the Suns lessened their tax bill.
"It was kind of tough," Bazley said of the trade. "When it first happened, it was one of those moments when you're like, 'Dang.' That's all I knew. A lot of those guys, I've been with them since I first came here.
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"In the NBA, your teammates and staff, you spend more time with them than you do your own families."
Bazley played seven minutes Sunday. It was just his third appearance for Phoenix.
"He's just a really good kid," Suns coach Monty Williams said. "I know you tend to use that phrase with a lot of NBA players, but I mean that. He's a good guy.
"He understands where he is in our program. I've talked to him a couple times about how tough it is for him to be traded to a team like our's that has a number of guys in his spot. He hasn't been given a fair shot, a shot, anything you want to call it, he hasn't been given that. But he works his tail off."
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Bazley has kept his head up.
"I like it here so far," Bazley said. "Everyone's been good to me. They've been really welcoming. Like you said, they're in a different spot contending wise, but I think that's good for me, to come to a spot and have to earn something.
"Each place you go to, each stop along the way, there's a lot of lessons to be learned."
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder beats Phoenix Suns, rises in NBA standings, playoffs race
