OKLAHOMA CITY — The Phoenix Suns will have had two days to address the issues that led to their 35-point playoff loss Sunday to defending NBA champion Oklahoma City in Game 1.
“We’ve just got to play better,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said. “We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to help a little bit more and that’s what this game is. Who plays the best that night.”
Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) goes to the basket past Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) during the first half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs series Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Oklahoma City.
Game 2 of the best-of-7 first-round series is Wednesday at Paycom Center at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN.
“Losing is never easy, but it's first team to four wins and we've got to respond, learn from this game and go out there and get after it,” Suns big Oso Ighodaro said.
The Suns shot just 34.9% from the field in Sunday’s 119-84 thrashing, going 13-of-39 from 3, and committed 19 turnovers that led to 34 Thunder points.
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“We can't iso this team,” Ott said. “We can't hold the ball against this team. We can't take tough 2s all night against this team.”
The Suns missed 30 of their 46 attempts from the field in the first half, trailing 65-44 at the break. Oklahoma City forced 10 turnovers that led to 21 points through two quarters.
“That played a big role,” Suns guard Jalen Green said. “They’re a team just like us that feeds off turnovers, gets in transition and runs. We’ve got to take care of the ball a lot better.”
The Thunder scored 18 fast-break points for the game. The Suns managed just two.
“The turnovers killed us, and the rebounding, too,” Green said.
Oklahoma City grabbed 19 offensive rebounds that led to 25 second-chance points.
“We need to get a shot on goal,” Suns guard Devin Booker said. “We had 19 turnovers and they had 19 offensive rebounds. That's a recipe for disaster.”
Phoenix has been without starting center Mark Williams (left foot soreness) for its last two games. The 7-footer missed 15 consecutive games late in the regular season with left foot third metatarsal stress reaction.
Grayson Allen (left hamstring strain) hasn’t played in the last two games either, despite being available. Williams and Allen are two of Phoenix’s top six scorers.
Oklahoma City led by as many as 39 points in Game 1 to begin its chase for a second straight NBA title, but the defending champions aren’t resting on that blowout victory.
“We don't wait to adjust to when we lose,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "We try to treat every game in a very neutral manner. Learn from the games. Improve certain things, adjust others. Keep some the same and that process is the same regardless of win or lose.”
The Thunder shot just 30.4% from 3 in Game 1, but they made essentially 60% of their 2-point field goal attempts in generating 52 points in the paint, attempted 10 more shots than the Suns and committed just eight turnovers that led to only two Phoenix points.
“We know as a team, offensively, the most efficient and sustainable offense is when you’re in the paint, touching the paint, making plays from there,” said Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP and finalist for this season’s top individual honor.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) stand next to each other during the first half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs series Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Oklahoma City.
“So defensively, we just do our best to keep teams out of the paint and when they do, just try to make it hard for them. Nothing different than who we’ve been in the past couple of seasons. Just playing to our identity.”
The Suns were next to last in the NBA in points in the paint in the regular season at 43.1. Oklahoma City limited them to 24 on Sunday.
Game 2s are all about adjustments. Phoenix will make its share. Oklahoma City sounds ready for whatever.
“There's a lot of different directions they could go in,” Daigneault said. “We try to understand what all those directions are. Could be different lineups. It could be different tactics. Could just be the same ones and try to execute them better.
"We try to account for all that. Just make sure we've got contingencies. Make sure our team has contingencies. A lot of that is just building those contingencies during the regular season so that we're not introducing new material right now and then we get in the game and we see what's going on.”
The series shifts to Phoenix for Game 3 on Saturday.
