The short-handed Phoenix Suns were blown out for the second-straight game with a 99-83 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in their second NBA Cup game.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Phoenix fell to 9-4 on the year and 1-1 in NBA Cup group play, while OKC is now 11-2 and 1-0 in the NBA Cup.
FINAL: The Oklahoma City Thunder hand the undermanned Phoenix Suns their second-straight blowout loss.
The Suns fall to 9-4 on the year and 1-1 in NBA Cup group play after shooting an atrocious 29.3% overall, becoming the first team all season to shoot under 30% in a game. pic.twitter.com/khx1CjESwn
— Burn City Suns ☀️ (@BurnCitySuns) November 16, 2024
The Suns were without Kevin Durant (left calf strain), Bradley Beal (left calf strain) and Grayson Allen (right hamstring soreness) for the second consecutive game.
Despite Oklahoma City being down Alex Caruso (right hip soreness), Chet Holmgren (right iliac wing fracture), Isaiah Hartenstein (left hand fracture) and Jaylin Williams (right hamstring strain), it was clear the Suns were fighting an uphill battle before the game even tipped off.
Here are some initial takeaways from the loss:
– As expected, the Suns really struggled offensively once again without Durant and Beal, scoring 83 points against the best defense in the NBA. The Suns tied the season low for points scored by any team in a game this season and their 29.3% field goal percentage on the night is the worst in a game by a team this year (previous was 31.5%). This was also the second-straight game they shot a season low from the field (22-for-75 overall) and beyond the arc (9-for-37, 24.3%).
– Devin Booker went scoreless in the first half (0-for-6) and finished with a season-low 12 points on 2-of-10 shooting. He did set up his teammates well, recording four assists, but a lot of would-be assists did not go in. If Beal and Durant are both out extended periods, the Suns need to find a way to get Booker going.
– Phoenix did not make a single field the last six minutes of the first quarter and shot an abysmal 3-for-21 (14%) as a team in the first, and this carried over to the rest of the game. No starter or non-garbage time player shot over 40% for the game (min. 3 shots). Booker, Ryan Dunn (4-13 FG, 9 points), Jusuf Nurkic (0-9 FG, 4 points) and Tyus Jones (2-8 FG, 7 points) all need to change something to get some rhythm for the team.
– Josh Okogie was the team’s leading scorer for the second-straight game with 15 points on 4-of-12 shooting to go along with nine rebounds after a strong start to the game. Okogie got the start tonight and made the most of it, showing he could get rotation minutes when the Suns are fully healthy.
– All things considered, the Suns played fine defensively, holding OKC to 36-for-91 (39.6%) shooting and 10-for-40 (25%) 3-point shooting. This was the best defense the Suns played on the 3-point line all season, which is pretty impressive with the Thunder starting five guards.
– Bol Bol once again did not get rotation minutes, but did play in garbage time, recording five points on 2-of-4 shooting and two rebounds in five minutes. It might be time to put him in the rotation with all of the injuries to try to find something that can work because clearly the Suns need some kind of a spark.
– Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced the Thunder all night with 28 points on 11-of-25 shooting, six rebounds and four assists.
– The Suns are now 1-3 without Durant. The importance of not only Durant, but also Beal is glaring.
The Suns close out their four-game road trip Sunday afternoon against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jusuf Nurkić to play, 4 Suns are out against severely depleted Thunder
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
