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Tim McMahon
multiple authors
Phoenix – The oklahoma city thunder These playoffs began in a similar fashion to the previous season’s championship run by winning their first-round series.
In fact, this is the third consecutive postseason that Oklahoma City has suffered a first-round sweep as the Western Conference’s top seed. The Thunder are 12-0 in first-round play under coach Mark Daigneault.
“It’s a really good feeling,” Thunder superstar. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said after scoring 31 points and dishing out eight assists on Monday win 131-122 Above phoenix sun In Game 4. “It’s good to start like this in the playoffs, as a group, with confidence. It’s important to get off the ground with a good performance. You never know what can happen. Usually, the later you go, the better the team is, so the series won’t turn out that way. But you want to give yourself as many days as possible to rest.”
Oklahoma City moves on to play champ Houston Rockets–Los Angeles Lakers Series in the West Semifinals. The Lakers have a 3-1 lead and can clinch a home win in Game 5 on Wednesday.
The Thunder came within one point in Game 4 and became the fourth defending champion in NBA history to win the first round with all double-digit wins. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 33.8 points and 8.0 assists in the series, and he was one of six Oklahoma City players to score in double figures on Monday, including Chet Holmgren with 24 digits and Ajay Mitchell With 22.
“He’s the league’s MVP, and he’s been playing the best basketball in the league the last two years,” Suns star devin booker Said about Gilgeous-Alexander. “It’s mixed with guys who know their roles, some experienced vets, and they’re tireless. With that chemistry, communication, it’s at 100%. And when the bench comes in, they get better sometimes. It’s like reinforcements, not subs. They have all the answers to the test.”
Gilgeous-Alexander cited the Suns’ “respect level” as a prerequisite for the Thunder to be able to complete the sweep.
“We know what a good team they were and how capable they are as players,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They play the right way. They play aggressively.”
“They’re a dangerous team if you let them be.”
It was a sour ending to a season that Booker – the face of the franchise, who has spent all 11 years of his career in Phoenix – called a “steppingstone” for the Suns.
“With all the media and whoever says that, we’re considered a laughingstock, a losing team. We’ve proven a lot of people wrong, and that’s just because we had heart. We came together, we played with each other and we had belief in each other. So, even though it sucks that you get swept in the playoffs by a great team, it doesn’t go against our season and what we’re building here.”
dillon brooks
After missing the playoffs the previous season, the Suns changed coaches for the third consecutive summer under owner Matt Ishbia and made two major acquisitions of his tenure via trade. Kevin Durant For rockets and waving and stretching bradley beal.
It was widely anticipated that Phoenix would again miss the playoffs, but the Suns improved to nine wins from the previous season and finished with a 45–37 record under rookie head coach Jordan Ott.
“All the media and whoever said it, we’re considered a laughing stock, a losing team,” the Suns forward said. dillon brooksArrived in Phoenix as part of the Joe Durant trade. “We proved a lot of people wrong, and that’s just because we had heart. We came together, we played with each other and we believed in each other. So, even though it sucks that you get swept in the playoffs by a great team, it doesn’t take anything against our season and what we’re building here.”
Booker credited Ott for helping establish the competitive culture he described as the foundation of Phoenix, a sentiment Daigneault emphasized while expressing his respect for the Suns.
“I think we’ve got a new lease on life,” Booker said. “After not making the playoffs last year, we saw everyone else’s expectations. But [that was] not ours. We still have something to learn. It was a great test for us.”
