The Oklahoma City Thunder has been labeled the “Comeback Kids” after the last couple of games. Tonight against the Phoenix Suns they made sure there wasn’t going to be a comeback needed. From the opening tipoff, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was attacking the rim with aggression. It was one of those nights that you could tell you were about to see something special. Shai was able to get the offense started as he was creating his jumper and was very crafty at the rim. The Thunder plays with a different type of swagger when Shai gets his offense going from the start of the game. The Phoenix Suns tried putting Devin Booker and Ricky Rubio on Shai throughout the night and it didn’t matter. Shai was 13/18 from the field on the evening and put this team on his back for a career-high 32 points. When Shai plays with this type of aggressiveness it opens up the floor for his teammates as well. The fact that Shai can beat you inside and outside has opposing teams confused on how to guard the second-year guard. The Suns had no answer for the Thunder tonight as OKC had 6 players in double figures. Shai has emerged as a player that teams have to gameplan for and just as much as the Suns tried he had an answer. Shai has patented his scoop layups and they have been something that teams can’t defend at all. The play of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had the Thunder in cruise control as they were able to throttle the Suns.
Another player that helped the Thunder get this victory was Danilo Gallinari as he finished with 22 points on the night. After the half, it seemed as though the in-game DJ kept playing the “Gallinari” theme music every couple of possessions. The 3rd quarter was owned by Gallinari as he came out the gate with 11 points. The Thunder in the past never had a clear cut sharpshooter outside of a star that you can depend on to knock down 3 pointers. This season Danilo Gallinari has been able to help the Thunder outshoot teams like they did the Suns tonight. The Phoenix Suns had no answer for the shooting of Gallinari and it seemed like the perimeter defense was nonexistent at times in this game. The NBA 6th Man of the Year award won’t be decided until June but it’s very clear to the Phoenix Suns and the NBA that Dennis Schröder is the front runner right now. Every time that Dennis Schröder comes into the game he’s been instant offense and tonight that was no different. Schröder finished the game with 24 points and was giving the Suns fits on the defensive side. This season and tonight Dennis has shown opposing defenses his whole bag of tricks from the floater to his flashy layups. The play of Dennis has helped this team to the 14-14 record that they have now. After tonights win the Thunder are finally at .500 on the season and will be looking to get above .500 against Paul George’s Clippers on Sunday.
The Phoenix Suns were flat out the gate in this game against OKC and it didn’t get better throughout the night. The Suns did get their star Devin Booker back from his forearm injury and it showed as he was a little rusty. On the night Devin Booker had 18 points as he usually gives the Thunder problems on the perimeter. Booker was one of the bright spots for the Suns who weren’t able to hit anything on second-chance opportunities on the night. The Suns have now lost 5 games in a row and tonight didn’t help with their morale at all. Ricky Rubio was also playing as good as he used too vs OKC when he was in Utah. Rubio finished with 24 points on the night to lead the Suns and it just wasn’t enough to get the job done against the Thunder tonight. The Suns had 5 players in double figures but it wasn’t enough to beat the OKC Thunder who have developed a nice home stretch.
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