OKC Thunder Must Continue to Outshoot Suns From Deep in Phoenix

The Thunder's shooting has given them an edge through two games.

Apr 22, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) shoots over Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) in the first half during game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City is looking to take a commanding lead in Game 3, and taking control from beyond the arc would be huge.

On Saturday, the Thunder will be in Phoenix for Game 3 against the Suns as they look to extend their lead in the series to 3-0. After getting a couple of double-digit wins back in Oklahoma City, the Thunder are still the clear favorites to advance to the second round, even with the news of Jalen Williams’ hamstring strain.

Still, as long as the Thunder have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor running the show, things should go in their favor. Of course, there is also one area on the floor that could turn this series back into a competitive one quite quickly in Game 3.

Coming into this series, it was clear that the 3-point shot would be a massive key to the Thunder’s hopes of controlling the matchup. While the Suns averaged more 3-point attempts and shot an almost identical percentage to the Thunder in the regular season, the No. 1 seed has had the edge from beyond the arc through two games.

In both games thus far, the Thunder have shot a worse percentage from three but have maintained a higher 3-point volume, taking seven more threes in Game 1 and nine more threes in Game 2. With the Suns now playing in front of their home crowd, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see them continue to shoot at a high level from beyond the arc.

However, it will be up to the Thunder to ensure that the 3-point volume battle still goes in their favor. Sure, the playoffs always seem to hold up the cliche that role players shoot better at home, but Oklahoma City’s defense should be enough to keep the Suns from getting into a true rhythm offensively.

Obviously, one way to ensure that the Suns don’t take as many threes as the Thunder is to ensure the Suns simply don’t have as many possessions ending in a shot at all. The Thunder’s identity is to create turnovers and dominate the turnover battle.

Even for a team like Phoenix that loves to shoot a lot from beyond the arc, the Thunder can still dominate that area of the game by winning the possession battle. Nothing about Game 3 in Phoenix will be easy, but the Thunder simply need to stick to their identity and win the battle of 3-point volume to give themselves the best chance of taking a 3-0 lead.