Preview: Suns Have One Final Chance vs Thunder

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns have one final shot in their first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder advancing to the next round was highly expected from practically everybody in the basketball world. Such is life when you're facing the defending NBA champions who very likely could repeat this season.

However, it's still a tad sobering for Phoenix to be facing the reality of a sweep as the Thunder arrive to Mortgage Matchup Center for Game 4 action.

Down 3-0, what can the Suns do differently?

"Shoot more 3s. We've improved there," Phoenix head coach Jordan Ott said.

"Take care of the basketball like we did last night. Defensively, try to get back, get set. Our pressure was better last night. Our defensive rebounding has improved. We got them later into the clock. Now we got to make some of those guys less efficient."

Without starting center Mark Williams, the Thunder's two-big lineup has helped patrol the paint and crash the glass — but it's not just OKC's inside advantage. They've defended the perimeter extremely well and have a considerably deep lineup that has made things difficult for the Suns on both ends of the floor.

"We've got to get the space, got to play faster, got to create more advantages early in the clock. This defense, it's hard to crack on one action. Might be multiple," Ott continued this weekend.

Williams is out yet again for Game 4 with his foot injury while Jordan Goodwin (calf) is questionable. Grayson Allen, previously on the injury report with a hamstring, was left off alongside Devin Booker, who briefly left action in Game 3 with an ankle injury before returning.

Phoenix has lost each of their prior three games by double digits. That seems to be the spread across various sportsbooks alongside a 72% win probability for OKC tonight.

The odds are stacked against the Suns, who have one final swing at the plate.

"Daunting? I believe in our group no matter if we don't have experience or the rah-rah of a basketball team that is OKC or whoever it is. We have heart and we're gonna battle to the end," Suns forward Dillon Brooks said this weekend.

"We're ready to find adjustments and find a way to get ready and {have] energy for Game 4."

A win would be massive for the Suns, who surely won't win the series but rather would be able to take a game off the NBA's best team while building some momentum for either the series or offseason.