Ajay Mitchell scored 30 to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 125-114 home win over the Phoenix Suns a day after the Thunder lost a pair of starters to long-term injuries.
Oklahoma City was playing its first game since Jalen Williams suffered a fractured fibula and a dislocated left ankle in the closing minutes of the Thunder’s win over the Clippers.
Earlier in that game, Cason Wallace suffered a torn labrum.
Both will require surgery and will be out long term.
But even without those two and Chet Holmgren, who missed the second night of a back-to-back, Oklahoma City had plenty of firepower to outlast the Suns and win their fourth consecutive game to start the season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting, Jared McCain added 18, and Isaiah Hartenstein had 15 points and 13 rebounds. Aday Mara had 11 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.
The game might have been another costly one for the already-thin Thunder though.
Alex Caruso left the game late in the second quarter after turning his right ankle.
While Oklahoma City’s star came up big, Phoenix’s Devin Booker struggled.
Booker had scored a combined 66 points over the first two games of the season but finished with just three points on 1-of-7 shooting.
It was Booker’s lowest-scoring game since Christmas 2022 when he left due to injury less than five minutes into the game. Other than that, Booker hadn’t been held to fewer than five points since his rookie season of 2015-16.
Jalen Green led the Suns with 20 points while Dillon Brooks added 19.
Though the Thunder trailed for only a few seconds in the game, it wasn’t until late in the second quarter when they took control.
Oklahoma City scored on nine of 11 possessions during its 22-6 run. The Thunder scored a pair of second-chance buckets during the stretch including a McCain 3-pointer.
The Suns have struggled early in the season to limit opponents’ offensive rebounds.
Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fifth foul with more than three minutes remaining in the third quarter and headed to the bench.
But the Suns could only cut the deficit from 16 to 14 without the two-time Most Valuable Player on the floor for the rest of the quarter.
Oklahoma City then reeled off a 12-2 run early in the fourth to put the game away.
–Field Level Media
