Jalen Williams Returns to Form as OKC Thunder Blow Out Suns in Game 1

The Oklahoma City Thunder started their title defense on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns. Game 1 of the opening round is always fun, no matter the matchup. The Paycom Center crowd was energized from the time they got in the building. Everyone in attendance –- on and off the court –– knew Sunday could mark the start of something special.

Oklahoma City is attempting to buck the current trend of parity across the NBA. The previous six NBA Champions have failed to make it out of the second round, some falling way short of even that destination. The Thunder are hoping to be the league's first repeat winner since the 2018 Golden State Warriors.

After rattling off 64 wins in an injury-riddled season, the Oklahoma City Thunder are healthier now than they have ever been during the 2025-26 campaign and primed for another deep playoff run. It all began on Sunday, April 19, inside the Paycom Center against the No. 8-seeded Suns.

Phoenix is less than 48 hours removed from punching its ticket to the NBA Playoffs with a Friday night win over the Golden State Warriors. This set up the Thunder with the talent and rest advantage for the opening game.

As the Oklahoma City Thunder cruised to a comfortable win in the series opener, here are three takeaways that stand out.

OKC Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Game 1, NBA Playoff — Apr 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives as Phoenix Suns guard Jordan Goodwin (23) defends in the first quarter during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

4 Takeaways From OKC Thunder Game 1 win over Phoenix Suns

1) Phoenix Suns Will Struggle to Score

Oklahoma City rosters the NBA's best defense. They can switch at every position, they have elite point of attack options, perfect backline help, length and physicality. Every shot the Phoenix Suns attempted in this game was contested. Most of the time, the Suns' offense was blanketed by the Thunder's defensive group.

Devin Booker and Jalen Green each had trouble playing in traffic, no matter who was on the court alongside them. With Jordan Ott staggering the scoring duo, it was even easier for Oklahoma City to hound whoever the lone scoring threat was on the floor.

The few comfortable looks that the Suns got into were still positive results for Oklahoma City. The only players who could find space to operate were those that the Thunder wanted shooting the ball and shots that made the Suns cringe. By the middle of the second quarter, Dillon Brooks had a game-high eight shot attempts with Phoenix down 23.

2) Chet Holmgren is primed to dominate this series

This is a Chet Holmgren series. The Phoenix Suns just do not have a matchup to contain the big man on the offensive end, as he heated up in a hurry with 16 points in the opening half. His ability to finish plays at a high level off the ball came to pass against this Suns defense, who couldn't afford to give him a high-level defender, needing to keep Oso Ighodaro in the paint to gear up for drivers.

This left Holmgren capable of knocking down catch and shoot triples over smaller matchups or lifted up in the mid-range as the Suns played drop to stop drivers and even at times sneaking behind the defense who sold out for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Jalen Williams paint touches. Mix in a few put-backs due to the Suns' lack of size and his activity, and you get a series where Holmgren should consistently pop in the point category.

Defensively, while the Gonzaga product did anchor a championship team a year ago, he has flashed great improvement in the first game of his third postseason run. While expected, it is good to see it happen as Holmgren moved a lot better on that end of the floor and was able to take away everything. He stiffled drivers, contested jumpers, and recovered back for rebounds. On top of being an elite help-side defender.

Perhaps his best trait in this game was his pick-and-roll defense, being able to rely on his quick hips and long strides to switch on to guards and if they snuck a pass through, stroll down the lane to get a stop at the rim. If they dared to shoot over his massive wingspan, it went predictably poorly for the Suns.

Holmgren finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, two steals and as many blocks while shooting 50% from the floor, 2-for-6 from beyond the arc and 4-for-4 at the charity stripe in 25 minutes.

3) Dillon Brooks Will Not Be Able to Handle This Series

Sure, Brooks is known as a good defender around the NBA, but there is only so much even he can do against his tough assignments in this series. Before the game even tipped off, he was up to his typical antics as a result. On Friday night, he called out the Thunder for flopping. Pregame, he refused to let Chet Holmgren see the game ball before tip-off. About a tenth of a second into the game, he picked up a flagrant foul.

The entire night, he spent animating all his frustrations while also shooting his team out of the game. Each shot that bricked off the iron was music to the Thunder's ears. While no one had it going for Phoenix, it is never going to be Brooks who can pull the Suns out of this mess. His willingness to take over a game and hunt for his own shot emotionally only makes the road more challenging.

With two days off to stew, Brooks will want revenge on Wednesday. The Thunder better hope so anyway. The odds of the NBA veteran launching the first five shots of the game without letting Booker or Green even attempt to get into a groove against the league's best defensive unit are high. If that happens, the Suns have no chance of stealing a game.

4. Jalen Williams is back

Williams was a magnet for the ball. Saving long rebounds from bouncing out of bounds, picking the pocket of Suns ball handlers, swatting shots, picking up loose change and facilitating the rock when he was running the show.

He attacked hard downhill with a combination of finesse and explosiveness that reminds everyone why he was an All-NBA honoree last season. His defense was to its normal All-NBA level, and Williams more than did his job leading the charge with Gilgeous-Alexander off the floor as well, swelling the Thunder's lead when the superstar was on the bench.

He not only had a flashy box score, but he also gave life to the crowd with his infectious energy and appeared as his old self after only playing in 33 games this season due to injury.

Perhaps the most important stat of the night was the volume of triples that Williams launched. As Mark Daigneault would say, this is a process over results stat. Sure, not all of them fell, but the team has to be encouraged by how comfortable he was letting the trey ball fly after not seeing it that close to the season.

Williams dazzled with 22 points, seven rebounds, six assists, a steal, and a block in his 29 minutes of action, going 9-for-15 from the floor, including 2-for-5 from distance.

The Oklahoma City Thunder took care of business in this game, dominating the Suns 119-84. Game 2 will take place on Wednesday inside the Paycom Center before the series shifts to Phoenix on Saturday.

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