On March 4, the West ushered in a strong dialogue, and the Suns hosted the Thunder, the No. 1 youth army in the West.
The game was broadcast live across the United States and was highly watched, with both teams gearing up and eager to win the game before the game.
In particular, the Suns, who originally hoped to easily win the Rockets yesterday, have fallen to 7th in the West and urgently need to win this key battle in this dialogue with the first in the West, on the one hand, to prove their strength, and on the other hand, to lay a good foundation for the playoffs with the top 6 in the West.
The competition was full of ups and downs and wonderful. The Suns overcame the impact of Booker's injury and absence in the last game, and Durant and Beal led the whole team to play a wave of scoring climaxes in the first quarter, but the Thunder led by Alexander also showed the strength of the first place in the West, tightly biting the score and achieving a comeback. In the second and third quarters, Thunder Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Holmgren hit high shooting percentages and maintained their lead, with the highest lead reaching 24 points. In the final quarter, the Suns were not far behind, and the team did not want to repeat the defeat to the Rockets in the last game. However, the Suns' hand is like a babyface in the summer, after Durant and Beal missed consecutive shots, Thunder Jayway and Alexander seized the opportunity, played steadily, and once again took away the initiative in the game, especially Alexander Hill climbed to the top of the peak, slashing a game-high 35 points, 9 assists and 3 blocks.
Throughout the game, the Suns looked powerless in front of the young Thunder.
At the critical moment of impacting the playoffs, Durant, as the leader of the team, although he scored decently, his performance on the court was only *** and even scored duck eggs in the fourth quarter of the game, and he and Beal contributed 12 of the team's 21 turnovers together, and the mistakes of the star seriously hurt the team. While Nurkic and Beal played well, getting 31 rebounds and 31 points, Durant continued to be in poor form and should be responsible for the loss of this game.
With around 20 games left in the regular season this season, teams are racing their way forward for a playoff spot. The Suns have been in a mediocre form recently, and looking forward to future games, the Suns will play against most playoff teams, and they will face a lot of pressure.
With Booker's injury status unknown, if Durant can't adjust his condition in time, the Suns' road to the playoffs will become difficult.
If you enter the play-off range of the playoffs, facing the Warriors and Lakers led by the face of the league, what are the chances of Sun's victory?