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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Thunder strike twice as SGA erupts for 37 against Suns in Game 2 win

Thunder strike twice as SGA erupts for 37 against Suns in Game 2 win

Published Apr 23, 2026 12:55 pm  |  Updated Apr 23, 2026 01:05 pm

At A Glance

  • OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 37 points and nine assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Phoenix Suns, 120-107, on Wednesday night, April 22, to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, right, drives past Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green during the second half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, right, drives past Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green during the second half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 37 points and nine assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Phoenix Suns, 120-107, on Wednesday night, April 22, to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points in the series-opening win on Sunday, going 5 for 18 from the field. He bounced back in Game 2 with 13-for-25 shooting after being presented the NBA Clutch Player of the Year trophy before the game.
Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams each added 19 points for Oklahoma City, though Williams left the game in the third quarter with a left hamstring injury and did not return. Williams, an All-Star in 2024-25, missed 30 games this season with a right hamstring injury after missing the first 19 games of the season following surgery on his right wrist.
Five higher-seeded teams had lost home games in the first week of the playoffs before Wednesday, including the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference, Detroit, Boston and New York, and the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the West, San Antonio and Denver. Oklahoma City avoided that fate by shooting 47.3% from the field and forcing 21 turnovers.
Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 30 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Devin Booker scored 22 points and Jalen Green added 21 for Phoenix, which will host Game 3 on Saturday.
The Thunder led 65-57 at halftime. Williams made his first six field goals and had 19 points at the break, while Gilgeous-Alexander had 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting.
The action picked up early in the second half as Brooks and Oklahoma City's Lu Dort — both members of Canada's national team — got double technical fouls after a brief skirmish following a made free throw.
Holmgren started the second half hot. He scored eight points in just over four minutes to help the Thunder go up 77-63 and force a Phoenix timeout. Oklahoma City extended the lead to 100-77 at the end of the third quarter.
Oklahoma City pushed the lead to 26 points early in the fourth quarter before Phoenix made a final push. Booker made a pull-up jumper and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but he rebounded and made a mid-range jumper to cut Oklahoma City's lead to 110-97 with five minutes to play. The Suns got no closer than 10 points.
Meanwhile, Cade Cunningham had 27 points, 11 assists and six rebounds to lead the top-seeded Detroit Pistons to a 98-83 win over the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic, evening their first-round series and ending the longest home losing streak in NBA playoff history.
The Pistons had lost 11 straight home postseason games, a drought that started in 2008.
Game 3 is Saturday in Orlando.
Detroit dominated the third quarter, turning a tie game into a rout by outscoring the Magic 38-16 in the period with six players scoring at least five points.
After Cunningham scored a career playoff-high 39 points in Game 1 and didn’t get much help, the All-Star guard had plenty of support, with five teammates scoring in double figures.
Jalen Suggs scored 19 points and Paolo Banchero had 18 for the Magic. They combined to miss 21 of 35 shots as the team shot 33% and was held to a season low in points.
Detroit’s Tobias Harris scored 16 points, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson had 11 each, and Duncan Robertson and Isaiah Stewart each scored 10. Robinson made three much-needed 3-pointers for a team that struggles with outside shooting.
Orlando’s Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane had 12 points apiece and Wendell Carter Jr. was limited to three points on 1-of-6 shooting after he scored 17 in the opener.

Related Tags

OKC Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Phoenix Suns Orlando Magic Detroit Pistons
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