OKLAHOMA CITY — Winning the opening tip-off, Collin Gillespie didn’t even have time to run a play. Cason Wallace blitzed him from the start and ripped the ball away. An easy transition layup foreshadowed the one-sided contest that transpired.

The Oklahoma City Thunder absolutely humiliated the Phoenix Suns in a 138-89 win. They led by as many as 53 points. The 2025 NBA Cup quarterfinals victory punched their ticket for a December trip to Las Vegas for a second straight year.

“I thought we had good mental toughness tonight. It’s hard to play with leads. It’s hard not to get distracted by the score. I thought the group to start the third quarter came out and threw the first punch. They did a great job,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “That energy continued through the third. The group in the fourth did a great job just playing the next possession. That’s how you build habits.”

It didn’t take long for the Thunder to bury the Suns. With Devin Booker, they had a puncher’s chance. But without him, this was over before the game even started. Jalen Williams passed it out to Chet Holmgren for the catch-and-shoot 3-pointer. That put them up by double-digit points before most folks even had a chance to settle in.

The Thunder had a 38-23 lead after the first quarter. That only ballooned for the rest of the night. The Thunder scored 36 points in the second frame. To end the half, they went unconscious from the outside with a 20-6 run. Lu Dort sank a couple of deep 3-pointers. Williams joined in on the fun at the buzzer.

The Thunder had a 74-48 halftime lead over the Suns. It didn’t get any prettier from there. Holmgren went into the post and finessed his way to an easy layup. Williams then bulldozed his way to a floater. And Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the cup for the scoop layup. Eight quick points out of the break put this one away.

As the Thunder buried the Suns on the scoreboard, the only drama that happened in the third quarter involved Grayson Allen. Pushing Holmgren out of frustration, a little scuffle took place. Williams egged the OKC crowd on to cheer. Allen was eventually ejected with a flagrant foul.

Flirting with a 40-point lead, the Thunder finally pulled the starters. All before the end of the third frame, too. Something that’s rarely happened. They scored 36 points in the quarter and held a 110-72 lead. The fourth quarter turned into garbage time, slash the Suns trying to pretty up the final margin. Couldn’t do that either, as OKC scored 28 points in the final frame.

I mean, wow. What a demolition. The Thunder led by 30-plus points throughout the entire second half. At one point, the score was 100-62. Yep. You read that right. The lead eventually peaked at 133-80. Yep, you read that right. This is one way to fluff up your net rating and point differential as you chase NBA history.

The Thunder shot 59% from the field and went 22-of-40 (55%) from 3. They shot 12-of-13 on free throws. They had 32 assists on 52 baskets. Six Thunder players scored double-digit points. All 13 OKC players scored points.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 28 points and eight assists. Holmgren had 24 points and eight rebounds. Williams tallied 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. Dort scored 12 points. Ousmane Dieng and Branden Carlson each had 11 points.

Meanwhile, the Suns shot 39% from the field and went 10-of-31 (32.3%) from 3. They shot 13-of-16 on free throws. They had 24 assists on 33 baskets. Four Suns players scored double-digit points.

Dillon Brooks finished with 16 points and three rebounds. Allen had 10 points and four assists before his ejection. Jordan Goodwin scored 15 points. Jamaree Bouyea had 14 points and six assists.

I mean, sheesh. There’s a blowout loss and then there’s this. Just an absolute one-sided contest that sticks with you for a while if you’re on the wrong end of it. The Thunder were on another level as they suffocated the Suns with the league’s best defense and hot outside shooting. It didn’t stop, either. All the way from the starters to the third-stringers.

This is why the reigning NBA champions are viewed as the clear-cut favorite to repeat. They’ve got off to one of the greatest starts in league history. And now, they’ll go into Las Vegas as the overwhelming favorite in the NBA Cup semifinals. They can cross off one of the last items left on their bucket list.

“All that’s great, but none of it matters Saturday. We can’t take any of it and carry into that game. It’s 0-0 when we start that game. We have to do those things. You have habits that you build but none of it carries over. That’s a competitive challenge,” Daigneault said. “It takes mental toughness and discipline and commitment to do that. These guys have exhibited that over a long period of time, but we got a lot of season left. That’s our challenge moving forward.”

You can say that all again. One of the big offseason storylines was whether the Thunder would fall complacent. After all, that’s how ‘championship hangover’ was first coined and part of the average sports fan’s vocabulary. Instead, they showed why they could barely crack open champagne after they won the Larry O’Brien trophy. It’s been on blowout win after another.

“We’re trying not to anticipate what the concerns are. There’s no boogeyman in the closet. We try to deal with what’s in front of us. But we have to understand, anything in the past takes you out in the present moment. Anything in the future takes you out in the present moment,” Daigneault said. “The game and the competition happen in the present moment. The championship is great, but if we’re thinking about it, it’s a distraction.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus

Chasing one last bucket, Gilgeous-Alexander went with his signature stepback jumper on Goodwin. After he drilled a deep mid-range shot, that’s all he needed to see before he checked out for the final time. Once again, it was a short night as the Suns were clueless on how to slow down the NBA’s best scorer.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting, eight assists and two rebounds. He shot 3-of-4 from 3 and went 3-of-3 on free throws. He also had two steals and a block.

The Suns couldn’t do anything to contain Gilgeous-Alexander. Going the antagonizing route with Brooks just doesn’t work. The reigning MVP keeps a cool demeanor all game. He slithered his way within the perimeter as several Phoenix defenders failed to slow him down from getting to his mid-range spots.

The jumper was automatic. A one-game absence served him well as a nice refresher. A stepback 3-pointer was part of the scoring barrage to end the first half that truly put this game away. He didn’t even need three full quarters to work his shift.

The Thunder have been the NBA’s best team for the last two seasons. They’re in a tier of their own. That all starts and stops with Gilgeous-Alexander. Feels like I’ve repeated that every other night, but that’s the point we’ve reached with what he’s doing on a night-to-night basis.

“I thought tonight, we were sharp there. He was aggressive. The other handlers were aggressive. We ran our spots. They made the right plays early and then we finished those plays,” Daigneault said about Gilgeous-Alexander. “It’s all interconnected, but he had a great game flow as he’s had all year. I thought as a team, we had great flow and ball movement tonight. The invisible part is just the discipline in the spacing.”

Chet Holmgren: A-plus

Getting into the post with the ball, Holmgren went to work. Methodical with each dribble, he went up and under to get Mark Williams to bite on a pump-fake. That was enough to go reverse for the easy banked-in layup. Talk about impeccable footwork a la Hakeem.

Holmgren finished with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting, eight rebounds and two assists. He shot 4-of-4 from 3 and went 2-of-3 on free throws. He also had three blocks.

Never seen Holmgren move like this as a scorer. Things have looked easy for him. He can finish through traffic thanks to his frame. And the jumper has gone from clunky-looking to smooth. Always a catch-and-shoot threat, he knocked down four outside shots to turn this into a laugh.

On the other end, you can tell Holmgren has missed playing center. His block numbers have skyrocketed in Isaiah Hartenstein’s absence. Whether a straight-up one-on-one contest or weakside help, he rejected several Suns players who dared to go at him. Plenty more decided otherwise.

A little confrontation with Allen added fuel to the fire. You could argue that Holmgren going back and forth with him turned this from a boring blowout to a destruction that went viral on social media. The extra shot of adrenaline had the Thunder playing like it was Game 7 of the playoffs as they nearly doubled the Suns on the scoreboard.

“I heard everybody. All five of us were right there. I just think when two really good teams are going at it, being physical, plays happen. I think it was officiated correctly,” Holmgren said. “It happened. I moved on and kept trying to play a basketball game.”

It’ll require more consistency, but we’re getting to the point where Holmgren will be near the top of opposing scouting reports. His mixture of size and skill has materialized this season. To the point that he’s on his way to his likely first All-Star bid. Everything is starting to click for him in his best individual season yet.

“It starts with the standard that we have. It continues with the respect we have for each other. The enjoyment that we have in doing this together. It culminates in just trying to learn from every experience. Good, bad, close game, blowout. Whatever it might be,” Holmgren said. “Just trying to get better. And having fun with each other while we’re doing that. Don’t let the grind of the season pull anybody in the wrong direction.”

Jalen Williams: B

After Holmgren and Allen were separated, both sides went back to their respective benches. The referees went to review a foul that was eventually upgraded to a flagrant foul. Before that happened, though, Williams was full of adrenaline. He egged the OKC crowd on to roar at the scuffle. That provided another boost to turn this from your average blowout to historic territory.

Williams finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, five rebounds and five assists. He shot 1-of-3 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws. He also had a steal.

Slicing through Phoenix’s defense, Williams helped destroy the Suns before halftime even arrived. He wasn’t needed to put up a monster outing, but played within the flow of the offense and defense to snowball the scoreboard. Like the rest of the starters, he was able to relax in the fourth quarter.

When asked about his moment after Allen’s flagrant foul, Williams said he wanted to back up Holmgren. The Thunder usually don’t get involved in extracurricular activities, but almost doubling the Suns on the scoreboard likely caused some bad moods from the road bench.

“Just, I don’t know. We’re up 40. I think something happened on the play before. Probably some frustration there. Just making sure I have Chet’s back. That’s about it,” Williams said. “It’s like, I don’t know. He’s kinda done it his whole career. I feel him. Just make sure I have my teammate’s back and go from there. It’s not anything that needs to be blown up. As bad as I want it to be blown up. Nobody really fights in the NBA anyway.”

You gotta give Williams credit for how he’s played since his return. On a winning machine, he’s seamlessly fit into their style of basketball on both ends. Duh. But the 24-year-old has done the delicate balance of knocking off rust and playing within the flow of the game.

That should scare the rest of the NBA. Once Williams gets his jumper back, the Thunder will add an All-NBA player. They’re already unstoppable. Getting another talent like that is just flat-out unfair for the rest of the league. Juggling injuries all season is a variable that’s flown under the radar in terms of impressiveness with this historic start.

Does it ever get boring with all these constant blowouts? Nope. Not for Williams. The 24-year-old loves his championship ring and lopsided scoreboard. And considering the fourth anniversary recently passed when OKC lost by an NBA-record 73 points to the Memphis Grizzlies, he believes teammates remaining from that team bring a perspective on what things can be like.

“Winning is never boring. There was a time when some players on our team were getting blown out. Not going to name names, but we lost by 70. I think a lot of guys have that in the back of their mind,” Williams said. “Even my first year. We weren’t winning a ton. We were solid. But I think I had that in the back of my mind. You can’t get bored with the process. I think having the lineup we had in at the end of the game, watching them be able to play is a little bit more motivation, too. They work really hard behind the scenes… Winning is winning. We’ll take ugly wins and pretty wins.”

Lu Dort: A

Pulling up from deep, Dort knocked down a long-distance right-wing outside jumper. The daring shot was all he needed to see before the basket widened horizontally in his mind. A couple of corner makes within a couple of possessions of each other helped put this away as halftime neared.

Dort finished with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, four rebounds and one assist. He shot 3-of-6 from 3 and went 1-of-1 on free throws.

Talk about a return. After a three-game absence dealing with an adductor strain, Dort joined in on the fun with OKC’s historic dominance. Out of all the shot attempts, perhaps nothing gets the OKC crowd louder than when he goes on a flurry from deep.

It was too easy for Dort against the Suns. No proper ball-handler created turnover after turnover. He helped with that. The Thunder have remained a win machine, despite the parts changing every game with a rotating cast of injuries to key players.

“It’s amazing. Right now, I’m trying my best to enjoy the moment. I know we got way more. But down the road in a couple of years, this team is going to be remembered,” Dort said. “It’s amazing to be a part of this group. Seeing those guys every day and go to battle with those guys.”

If anybody can appreciate OKC graduating into a juggernaut, it’s Dort. As one of the longest-tenured players, he was part of a couple of 20-win seasons. Everything that’s happened these last two seasons must mean extra special for the folks who saw this grow from the ground up like him.

“It means a lot. We had some tough days here. It just shows it’s a buildup and you really gotta trust the process,” Dort said. “It was a full-time commitment. Give a lot of credit to our organization in general to be able to put that type of team together. It’s amazing to be a part of it. I’m glad I was here in the bad days so I can see the better days.”

Cason Wallace: A

Leading the fastbreak, Wallace was rewarded for thinking ahead. Gilgeous-Alexander threw a cross-court pass to him as he went up for the jam. He spun around as he hung on the rim to celebrate the transition dunk that helped put the Suns away.

Wallace finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, four rebounds and two assists. He shot 1-of-2 from 2. He also had four steals.

Jockeying with Dyson Daniels, Wallace padded his league lead for steals. The opening possession previewed that as he ripped the ball away from Gillespie. Without Booker, Phoenix had to rely on a bunch of role players who aren’t comfortable with the ball in their hands. It turned out exactly as you think it would against the NBA’s best defense.

It was too easy for Wallace. He’s turned into one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. Unfortunately, an injury ruined his fun. Running hard into Williams on a screen, he slowly reacted to the brutal hit. One play later, he intentionally fouled so he could check out to go to the locker room.

We’ll see how Wallace feels for the NBA Cup semifinals. While no official injury was provided, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him enter concussion protocol. His reaction to the hard screen kinda gave it away. But as I said, nothing official has been announced yet.

“He was ruled out the rest of the game but we’ll check him out tomorrow,” Daigneault said about Wallace. “I didn’t even know what’s going on but we’ll check him out tomorrow.”

The Thunder are filled with some of the best defenders in the league at different spots on the floor. From one-on-one stoppers like Wallace to elite rim protectors like Holmgren to switch-heavy and versatile players like Williams. There was blood in the water from the jump, as Phoenix has zero traditional ball-handlers.

“Gets up. Pressures the ball. Active hands. Great feet. I’ve tried to pressure a couple of times and I don’t know how these dudes stay in front with 94 feet in space and just run by you. Credit to those dudes,” Holmgren said about Wallace. “Cason was great tonight. You never want to see him go out like that. He should be alright, though. Tough guy.”

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