Feb. 12, 2026, 12:10 a.m. CT
Dribbling past Dillon Brooks, Jalen Williams spun around and found Chet Holmgren underneath the basket. The All-Star player flew off the floor and threw down the one-handed jam despite a couple of Phoenix defenders going up for the contest.
The Oklahoma City Thunder absolutely destroyed the Phoenix Suns in a 136-109 win. They led by as many as 37 points. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Devin Booker both out, the former’s depth flexed its muscles.
Even without the reigning MVP, the Thunder had no problem dissecting the Suns. Isaiah Hartenstein was thrown a couple of lobs in the opening moments. That foreshadowed the type of easy-mode night they’d have. Lu Dort got past Brooks for the reverse layup.
The Thunder had a 37-25 lead after the first quarter. The offense was in a flow from the jump. They went on a game-sealing 24-8 run in the second frame. Bringing in the bench, Isaiah Joe and Jared McCain ballooned OKC’s lead to an insurmountable amount.
Both OKC role players were sizzling off the bench. Joe buried Phoenix from the perimeter. McCain scored eight points within three possessions. Before you knew it, the Thunder had a 69-44 lead with a little over three minutes left in the second frame.
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That continued the rest of the way. The Thunder had 38 points in the second quarter. They entered halftime with a 75-52 lead. That put this game away. Meanwhile, the Suns just didn’t have any scoring talent. With Booker out, they had to rely on Brooks as their top scorer. Which can get ugly pretty fast.
To start the second half, Williams had his best stretch of basketball in a frustrating season. He got to his spots at the elbow and baseline for mid-range jumpers. He muscled his way through traffic to flick up floaters that fell through. He even swished in an outside shot. The one-time All-NBA talent had 19 points on red-hot shooting to humiliate the Suns.
Going for a driving layup, Williams hobbled his way to the other side of the floor after his first miss. Holding his hamstring, he immediately went to the locker room. Uh oh. I mean, you gotta be kidding me. Only in his second game back from a 10-game absence due to a hamstring strain, the vibes shifted from a party to doom.
We’ll see what happens, but everybody knows how tricky hamstring recoveries can be. Even when you return. Williams’ exit clouded over the rest of the game. The Thunder scored 37 points in the third frame. They crossed the century mark by a pretty decent margin with a 112-80 lead.
Once Williams left, the rest of this game turned into background noise. Holmgren also didn’t play for most of the second half due to the lopsided score and being elbowed on the shoulder. The Thunder only scored 24 points in the final frame as the Suns failed to pretty up the final deficit in a battle of third-string players.
The Thunder shot 58% from the field and went 15-of-36 (41.7%) from 3. They shot 17-of-19 on free throws. They had 28 assists on 52 baskets. Seven Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Williams led the way with an efficient 28 points and five assists. Holmgren had 13 points and four rebounds. Joe scored 21 points off the bench. McCain tallied 12 points and four rebounds. Kenrich Williams finished with 15 points and six rebounds. Aaron Wiggins had 12 points and three rebounds. Jaylin Williams had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Meanwhile, the Suns shot 47% from the field and went 15-of-42 (35.7%) from 3. They shot 8-of-13 on free throws. They had 26 assists on 43 baskets. Four Suns players scored double-digit points.
Brooks finished with 23 points and five rebounds. Royce O’Neale finished with 12 points. Jordan Goodwin had 12 points and four rebounds. Jamaree Bouyea tallied 11 points and six assists.
Great, all-around win for the Thunder. That’s only clouded by Williams’ presumed injury. We wait for an update on that. As you saw in these last two wins, they badly need the 24-year-old if they want to reach their ceiling of being a back-to-back NBA champion. But no point in stressing about something ambiguous until we get a clearer picture of what exactly happened.
Back to the game, everybody on the Thunder had their moment. An impressive showing considering Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence. To put up these types of video-game numbers is just absurdly impressive — even against the lesser version of the Suns without Booker and others.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades:
Jalen Williams: A-plus
Getting by O’Neale, Williams drove to the basket before he tested his hot streak with a baseline fadeaway jumper. It calmly swished in. The 24-year-old was unconscious in his best stretch of basketball this season. He was surgical with his hot hand as he buried Phoenix with jumpers and floaters.
Williams finished with 28 points on 11-of-12 shooting, five assists and four rebounds. He shot 2-of-2 from 3 and went 4-of-5 on free throws.
The shot-making was the best it’s looked all season. To start the third quarter, Williams snaked his way around Hartenstein’s screen. He caught O’Neale in the jail dribbler before he feathered in an elbow pull-up jumper. Once again, he found a clear lane to the rim and threw up a high-arcing floater on his next look.
That’s when you knew Williams was feeling himself. He got a little more daring as he entered the zone. Gillespie stayed in front of him, but it didn’t matter. The 24-year-old robotically drilled the mid-range jumper. A few possessions later, he finessed a floater in his face.
At one point, Williams made his first 11 shot attempts. Unreal level of being a supernova scorer. The Thunder read the room and fed him the ball. He scored 19 points in the third quarter. It felt like the headliner from this lopsided game was his return to being an All-NBA guy.
As most know, Williams’ shooting struggles have been pretty documented. Before his hamstring strain, it felt like things were finally coming together. When he had two surgeries on his wrist, you knew patience was going to be required until he eventually found his form. And in the penultimate game before the All-Star break, it felt like the patience had finally paid off.
Until one inopportune fastbreak situation. Going for the driving layup, Williams recorded his first miss. More significantly, though, he immediately asked for a substitution. He went to the locker room and didn’t return. Holding his hamstring area, most minds immediately raced to the worst-case scenario — another hamstring strain. We’ll see what happens, but hard not to think that considering how fragile those can be.
It was quite a bittersweet couple of days in Arizona for Williams. One night, he saw his high school get retired. Nostalgia rushed through his body. The next night, he kept the adrenaline going and had his best game of the season. But in a whiplash of emotions, he’s hit a new level of frustration over the possibility of another lengthy absence.
Chet Holmgren: B
Crossing over to his right, Holmgren drove at Oso Ighodaro. A couple of girafee-esque steps had him finish through contact for the reverse layup. As the Thunder buried the Suns on the scoreboard, the All-Star player played within the flow of the offense.
Holmgren finished with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, four rebounds and two assists. He shot 0-of-1 from 3 and went 5-of-5 on free throws.
Not the loudest scoring game, but the Thunder didn’t need that from Holmgren. He helped them get up early on the scoreboard to remove any possible drama. Without Booker, the Suns didn’t have any dynamic scorers to challenge the seven-footer at the rim. Can’t really expect that from a bunch of role players.
After being elbowed by Williams in some friendly fire, the Thunder pulled Holmgren for the final time. He only logged 20 minutes in three quarters as the scoreboard became comical. Probably the smart decision to make, considering how plagued this year has been with injuries.
As Gilgeous-Alexander remains out, the Thunder have seen Holmgren and Hartenstein play some of their best basketball together. Feels like we’ve seldom seen them manning the frontcourt due to injuries. But these last handful of games have seen OKC play some of its best basketball in that regard.
Isaiah Joe: A-plus
Catching Hartenstein’s pass between his legs, Joe quickly put up the corner outside attempt. The ball swished in. Like revving up an engine, pairing up with OKC’s starting center for his first couple of outside buckets got him into a rhythm.
Joe finished with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting, one assist and one rebound. He shot 6-of-8 from 3 and went 3-of-4 on free throws.
Since the trade deadline, Joe has had a fire lit underneath him. That’s now three straight high-scoring games to make up for some of Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence. Putting up 15 points in the second quarter, you saw him get more daring with his range — to the point that some of his later attempts were launched from Phoenix’s court logos.
As the Thunder flirted with an unreal 60% clip from the field for the first half, Joe scorched the Suns with his outside jumpers. He connected with several teammates on his buckets as OKC had its offense in a pass-happy, all-vibes-good mood.
Talk about getting hot at the right time. Once Gilgeous-Alexander went down, the Thunder badly needed some of their role players to account for his usual 30-plus points. Joe has done that. His DHO tag-team partner in Hartenstein has opened up the floor for him.
Great to see Joe on such a roll. With both teams’ best players out, the Thunder showed why they’re regarded as the NBA’s deepest teams. It was a great group effort where only two guys scored over 20 points and seven guys had double-digit points.
Jared McCain: A
Getting the switch on Mark Williams, McCain decided to go to the cup. Jamming on the brakes, that created a crease of space to go for the daring underhanded layup. The usual jumper-happy scorer turned in his best game in OKC yet.
McCain finished with 12 point son 5-of-8 shooting, four rebounds and one assist. He shot 2-of-3 from 3. He also had two steals.
Another piece of OKC’s game-sealing second quarter, McCain quickly put up eight points with a driving layup and two outside jumpers. That type of scoring outburst within a handful of possessions is exactly why the Thunder acquired him from the Philadelphia 76ers.
We’re only three games in, but McCain’s minutes with Joe have provided an offensive-slanted lineup you haven’t seen in years. Considering it helped the Thunder score a season-high 75 points in the first half, you can’t help but be excited about what Gilgeous-Alexander can do with that type of spacing.
Slowly, but surely, McCain is growing comfortable with his new teammates. Think reality has set in that he’s gone from a fun story to the title favorite. The 21-year-old provides the Thunder with another microwave scorer off the bench who can put up buckets in a flurry.
Kenrich Williams: B-plus
Posting up on Bouyea, Williams muscled his way through Phoenix’s undersized defender. He eventually found an opening and banked in the layup. The 31-year-old has shown he has an old-school element to his game. The Thunder have thrown that curveball when needed.
Williams finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, six rebounds and two assists. He shot 2-of-3 from 3 and went 1-of-1 on free throws. He also had one steal.
In a box score filled with double-digit scorers, Williams helped the Thunder put this one away. He was another bench player who dominated the second-unit minutes. OKC had an unreal 74 points from its reserves in this one. He helped out by scoring inside the paint and making his outside looks.
The Thunder have managed to stay atop the NBA standings despite an unreal string of injuries. You can thank their depth for that. They’ve grown a plug-and-play approach over the years. Williams has helped with that as one of the longest-tenured guys on the roster. When he gets a chance, you usually see OKC win its minutes.
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