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Jalen Williams scored 22 points and Chet Holmgren added 16 for
the top-seeded Thunder, who will host Game 2 on Wednesday.
Devin Booker scored 23 points and Dillon Brooks scored 18 on
6-of-22 shooting for the Suns, who shot 34.9% from the field.
Jalen Green, who scored 35 and 36 points in Phoenix’s two
play-in games, had 17 on 6-for-16 shooting.
It was the third straight year that the Thunder earned the top
seed and had to wait through the play-in tournament to learn
their first-round opponent. Two seasons ago, Oklahoma City beat
New Orleans 94-92 in Game 1. Last year, the Thunder routed
Memphis 131-80 in Game 1 on their way to the title.
Phoenix claimed the No. 8 seed by defeating the Golden State
Warriors on Friday night. The Suns took an early 5-0 lead Sunday
as the Thunder started cold following a week off.
The Thunder heated up quickly. Brooks was called for a
flagrant-one foul in the first quarter for hitting Holmgren in
the face. The Thunder went on a 12-2 surge after that to take a
24-14 lead.
In the closing seconds of the quarter, Oklahoma City's Jaylin
Williams threw a pass about three-quarters of the length of the
court. Holmgren caught it with his back to the basket, took one
dribble to his right, then turned and drained a 3-pointer as
time expired to put Oklahoma City up 35-20.
Oklahoma City extended the advantage to 65-44 at halftime.
Holmgren had 16 points and Gilgeous-Alexander had 15 at the
break.
Gilgeous-Alexander converted a three-point play to push Oklahoma
City's lead to 90-63 late in the third quarter, and the Thunder
took a 97-66 edge into the fourth.
Nine Oklahoma City players saw at least 13 minutes of action.
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