The Suns have now committed 41 turnovers through 2 games in this series, compared to the Thunder's 18 TOs.

OKC is now up 56-11 in points off turnovers

Positives:
-Suns never say die
-Dillon Brooks backed up his talk
-Khaman Maluach proved he deserves minutes
-Good stuff, Royce

Negatives:
-Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers
-Still need a vintage Playoff Book game
-Jalen Green's lows are low
-Officiating made this a hard watch

Final: OKC 120, PHX 107
Brooks: 30 Pts, 5 Reb, 12-23 FG, 5-9 3P
Booker: 22 Pts, 7 Reb, 7-14 FG, 8-10 FT
Green: 21 Pts, 5 Reb, 8-23 FG, 1-8 3P
Gilgeous-Alexander: 37 Pts, 9 Ast, 5 Reb, 13-25 FG, 9-9 FT

21 Suns TOs for 22 Thunder points, PHX down 0-2 in the series

lol come on. We’re firing the coach who helped them overachieve in his first season?

Suns back within 10 after an 11-2 run! There's some of that resilience that's defined their season. Still 3:46 to play. The irrational, never-say-die attitude of Dillon Brooks ignited this run

Dillon Brooks has 30. Credit to him, he's shut a lot of people (including me) for the night. Thunder still up 17 though

Suns FGs:

Dillon Brooks: 10-for-20
Jalen Green: 8-for-21
Devin Booker: 4-for-10

Unless those first 2 are absolutely cooking, Book needs to be north of 20 FGAs for the Suns to have a chance of stealing a single game in this series

*Devin Booker saves the ball and inadvertently hits a Thunder player*

The refs:

End of 3Q: OKC 100, PHX 77
Green: 18 Pts, 4 Reb, 7-17 FG
Brooks: 17 Pts, 7-15 FG, 3-7 3P
Booker: 15 Pts, 6 Reb, 4-10 FG, 7-7 FT
Gilgeous-Alexander: 29 Pts, 7 Ast, 5 Reb, 11-22 FG

16 Suns turnovers for 22 Thunder points

They gave Devin Booker a technical foul for trying to save the ball. Can't even make this stuff up lololol

Chet Holmgren is a menace right now. More broadly, Suns (and Book) have gotta find a way to get Devin Booker going. 8 FGAs ain't cutting it

Back in my day (like 10 years ago), this used to just be a "play on" because it's the freaking NBA Playoffs

In the league where that was a perfectly natural shooting motion that was somehow deemed unnatural. Give me a break lol

Halftime: OKC 65, PHX 57
Green: 14 Pts, 5-11 FG, 3-4 FT
Booker: 11 Pts, 5 Reb, 3-6 FG, 5-5 FT
O'Neale: 11 Pts, 5 Reb, 3-3 3P
J. Williams: 19 Pts, 7-8 FG

11 Suns turnovers for 17 Thunder points

Yeah...if Jordan Ott's challenge isn't successful here, I don't think OKC is beatable. Like what are we even doing here if that's an offensive foul on Devin Booker given the level of physicality OKC plays with?

Play-In Tournament Jalen Green is here, and the Suns need it badly. He's got 14 points already on 5-of-10 shooting

Much more recognizable Suns performance in this first half. Definitely not perfect (the turnovers!), and the Thunder are still the Thunder, but they're crashing the offensive glass and staying in this thing so far

End of 1Q: OKC 30, PHX 29
Gillespie: 7 Pts, 3 Ast, 3-4 FG
Brooks: 7 Pts, 3-6 FG
O'Neale: 6 Pts, 2-2 3P
Gilgeous-Alexander: 11 Pts, 5-9 FG

Much better fight. 5 Suns turnovers already for 7 Thunder points though

Tough start for Oso Ighodaro, who's being hunted repeatedly on defense. Pretty rough foul call on him there too. Now we're gonna get some Khaman Maluach minutes...potentially against OKC's small-ball lineup

Good to see Collin Gillespie making the most of the start, nailing his first 2 shots for 5 early points

"I laugh, but I respect that so much that it does not matter to him. It is competition, I want to win every possession"

@nekiasnba.bsky.social spoke on his favorite Dillon Brooks G1 moment and whether the Suns can rein him in a bit!

LISTEN: bit.ly/42oZrW0
WATCH: bit.ly/4mQeS3c

Episode 15 (VIDEO feat. Nekias Duncan): Suns vs. Thunder Game 1 takeaways, Game 2 adjustments & Invincible | Suns After Dark: A Phoenix Suns Pod Site Episode 15 (VIDEO feat. Nekias Duncan): Suns vs. Thunder Game 1 takeaways, Game 2 adjustments & Invincible by Suns After Dark: A Phoenix Suns Pod Site on Patreon. Join Suns After Dark: A Phoenix Suns ...

NEW @sunsafterdark.bsky.social POD! @nekiasnba.bsky.social joined me to talk Suns-Thunder Game 1 takeaways, how Phoenix can adjust (or just be better) in Game 2, and Season 4 of Invincible!

WATCH: bit.ly/4mQeS3c
LISTEN: bit.ly/42oZrW0

Just as a heads up, nothing changes with @sunsafterdark.bsky.social, and I’m still seeking full-time employment. But I’m looking forward to this new gig, where I’ll be writing a weekly Suns article and doing some video segments too! 👀

The Duality of Dillon Brooks Got Suns To This Point, But How Much Higher Is the Ceiling? By Gerald Bourguet One doesn't earn a nickname like "Villain" without living on the knife's edge between impactful and detrimental. Igniting a team's competitive fire without letting it burn down ever...

Some exciting news: I'll freelancing some extra Suns work for @sports360az.bsky.social! For my first piece, I wrote about the duality of Dillon Brooks, who helped Phoenix get to this point but may already be approaching his ceiling as the Valley's Villain:

The Suns are listing Mark Williams (left foot stress reaction), Grayson Allen (left hamstring strain) and Jordan Goodwin (left calf soreness) as questionable for Game 2 tomorrow

Suns picks in 2026 NBA Draft:

-No. 16 (owed to Grizzlies)
-No. 47 (from Sixers)
-No. 48 (owed to Mavericks)

So basically, as of right now, Phoenix’s only pick in this year’s draft is No. 47 via Philly

The Suns won a three-way tiebreaker, which means their first round pick in this year’s draft will be No. 16 and going to the Memphis Grizzlies

3 adjustments for Suns in Game 2 vs. Thunder | Suns After Dark: A Phoenix Suns Pod Site Get more from Suns After Dark: A Phoenix Suns Pod Site on Patreon

Game 1 was proof there's only so much Jordan Ott and the Suns can do to change the inevitable outcome of this matchup against the mighty Thunder. But that won't stop them (or me) from trying. For @sunsafterdark.bsky.social, here are 3 vital adjustments for Game 2:

Jordan Ott is not a finalist for Coach of the Year. J.B Bickerstaff, Mitch Johnson and Joe Mazzulla are the 3 finalists.

I know everyone's mad at Ott right now because of Rasheer Fleming, but I thought he genuinely deserved to be a finalist at least

Final: OKC 119, PHX 84
Booker: 23 Pts, 6 Reb, 8-17 FG
Brooks: 18 Pts, 7 Reb, 6-22 FG, 3-10 3P
Green: 17 Pts, 6-16 FG
Gilgeous-Alexander: 25 Pts, 7 Ast, 5-18 FG, 15-17 FT

Suns go down 0-1 in the series