OKLAHOMA CITY -
Devin Booker scored 32 points, and the Phoenix Suns held off the Oklahoma City Thunder 123-120 on Sunday night.
Former Thunder guard Chris Paul had 18 points and 11 assists, and Torrey Craig added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who shot 54%. Phoenix entered the night one-half game behind Utah for the best record in the Western Conference.
Phoenix led 119-103 with 3:29 remaining before the Thunder closed the game on a 17-4 run. Oklahoma City was coming off a 152-95 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night, the worst home loss in NBA history.
Darius Bazley had 19 points and nine rebounds and Theo Maledon added 18 points for the Thunder, who have lost 20 of 22.
May 2, 2021
Oklahoma City suffered their worst lost in team history on Saturday night against Indiana by 57 points. However, on Sunday, they turned things around and nearly took down the NBA s top team in the Phoenix Suns. Although they lost by a final score of 123-120, there were drastic improvements across the board from the Thunder in comparison to the night before.
OKC s
Ty Jerome had a chance to play against his former team on Sunday night. After being acquired by the Thunder in the
Chris Paul trade, former Phoenix Sun Jerome would look past his early-career injury issues and try make an impact on a rebuilding Oklahoma City team. After missing the first part of the season due to an ankle injury and spending time in the G League bubble, he s been perhaps the Thunder s best bench player.
The Thunder stuck to its game plan against a physical Pelicans team. However, a series of costly runs tilted the scales heavily in New Orleans’ favor midway through the game. OKC continued to fight down the stretch, but it wouldn’t be enough to overcome the early deficit.
Thunder eliminated from playoffs after 109-95 loss to Pelicans
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Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images
If you were busy watching the NFL Draft, then no worries, not much was missed with this game outside of the debut of Gabriel Deck in a 109-95 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Deck signed a multi-year deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 12 but was finally able to play tonight with his new team after dealing with immigration issues and COVID-19 protocols.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault mentioned pregame that players like Deck and Charlie Brown Jr. would be taking Kenrich Williams minutes tonight to see what they are made of. He cites that the season only has a handful of games left as a reason to sit Williams. It is unknown right now whether this Williams benching is just a one-game thing or a multigame decision.