3rd Quarter Report
The Thunder are on the road but looking no worse for wear. Sitting on a score of 89-85, they have looked like the better team, but there’s still one more quarter to play.
If the Thunder keep playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 42-18 in no time. On the other hand, the Suns will have to make due with a 35-26 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Phoenix Suns
Current Records: Oklahoma City 41-18, Phoenix 35-25
How To Watch
- When: Sunday, March 3, 2024 at 9:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Footprint Center — Phoenix, Arizona
- TV: ESPN
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $53.93
What to Know
The Oklahoma City Thunder will head out on the road to take on the Phoenix Suns at 9:30 p.m. ET on Sunday at Footprint Center. Both of these teams will be coming in off a loss in a game they were expected to win.
After a string of six wins, the Thunder’s good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. The match between them and San Antonio wasn’t particularly close, with Oklahoma City falling 132-118. The Thunder found out winning isn’t easy when you don’t work as a unit and post 19 fewer assists than your opponent.
The loss doesn’t tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 31 points along with six rebounds. He has been hot recently, having posted 25 or more points the last nine times he’s played. The team also got some help courtesy of Chet Holmgren, who scored 23 points along with seven rebounds and five assists.
Meanwhile, Phoenix came up short against the Rockets on Saturday and fell 118-109.
The Suns’ defeat shouldn’t obscure the performances of Kevin Durant, who almost dropped a double-double on 30 points and nine rebounds, and Royce O’Neale who dropped a double-double on 20 points and ten rebounds. Less helpful for the Suns was Grayson Allen’s abysmal 0-6 three-point shooting.
Oklahoma City’s defeat dropped their record down to 41-18. As for Phoenix, their loss ended a nine-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 35-25.
Looking forward, the Thunder are the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 5.5 points. This contest will be their 18th straight as the favorites (so far over this stretch they are 9-8 against the spread).
Sunday’s contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: The Thunder just can’t miss this season, having made 50.3% of their shots per game (they’re ranked second in field goal percentage overall). However, it’s not like the Suns (currently ranked fourth in field goal percentage) struggle in that department as they’ve made 49.6% of their shots this season. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Odds
Oklahoma City is a solid 5.5-point favorite against Phoenix, according to the latest NBA odds.
The line on this game has moved quite a bit since it opened, as it started out with the Thunder as a 2-point favorite.
The over/under is 233.5 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Phoenix has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Oklahoma City.
- Nov 12, 2023 – Oklahoma City 111 vs. Phoenix 99
- Apr 02, 2023 – Phoenix 128 vs. Oklahoma City 118
- Mar 19, 2023 – Oklahoma City 124 vs. Phoenix 120
- Mar 08, 2023 – Phoenix 132 vs. Oklahoma City 101
- Feb 24, 2023 – Phoenix 124 vs. Oklahoma City 115
- Apr 03, 2022 – Oklahoma City 117 vs. Phoenix 96
- Feb 24, 2022 – Phoenix 124 vs. Oklahoma City 104
- Dec 29, 2021 – Phoenix 115 vs. Oklahoma City 97
- Dec 23, 2021 – Phoenix 113 vs. Oklahoma City 101
- May 02, 2021 – Phoenix 123 vs. Oklahoma City 120
