Suns don’t look to roll over against the Thunder, but rather flip the script on the champs

After dropping their first two games to the Oklahoma City Thunder — the second being the worst loss in the team’s history — the Suns looked to redeem themselves. Phoenix has been in this position before, dropping games in lopsided fashion. With two vastly different losses against Oklahoma City, their third encounter would showcase the lessons they’ve learned and how to keep themselves emotionally in check.

However, it wouldn’t be easy.

Head coach Jordan Ott understands that teams go through tough games, whether it’s a blowout or a thrilling defeat. Yet, he believes that his team has only gotten better and treats every matchup as “a night to compete.”

“You wanna be in that atmosphere where it’s like ‘okay, this is a stressful atmosphere, this is fun,'” Ott said pre-game. “‘This is competitive.’ That’s gonna stretch us. That’s where we wanna be. We wanna be in that type of environment and see what happens. That’s the only way to get better.”

The Suns were definitely tested in the first half. The Thunder took a commanding 24-9 lead early in the first quarter, increasing their lead to 17 in the second. Yet, Phoenix have fought back on both occasions and ended the half trailing 49-42.

Phoenix isn’t playing defeated, but is allowing Oklahoma City to capitalize on mistakes and run through the defense. No player scored in double digits in the first half, but are showing glimpses of being able to overcome the dominant Thunder.

While there’s still time for the Suns to get back in the game, it’ll come down to whether they take control of the tempo in the second half and use their defensive identity against the defending champions.