Game Recap: Nurkic snags franchise record 31 rebounds in wild 118-110 loss to the Thunder

The Phoenix Suns showed fight making their way back down 22 points, only to fall short to the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-110.

Jusuf Nurkic, behind an insane stat line of 14 points and 31 rebounds (a franchise record), started and ended the game owning the paint. The connecter of the Suns offense missed the second half of Saturday night's defeat against the Houston Rockets and made up for the time lost.

Without Devin Booker, Bradley Beal did his best to keep up with the Thunder, scoring 31 points. The ball moved early but began to stick towards the end of the game. Trying to exchange blows with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Beal came up short.

The defense of the Suns took a major step forward in the second half, containing SGA with double teams on the perimeter, but with the game on the line, SGA was unstoppable, scoring 35 points, in helping route the Suns.

Game Flow

First Half

It was the start you hoped for from the Suns, taking a 10-2 lead over the Thunder by moving the ball and limiting the Thunder to only the one-shot opportunity. As much as the Suns had to rely in Beal and KD during this game, the ball never stuck in their hands unless they were already on their way to the rim for an easy bucket.

Missing him in Saturday night’s loss against the Houston Rockets, Nurkic was incredible to start the game. With five minutes left in the first quarter, his stat line read: Four points, 12 rebounds, and two assists. He destroyed Chet and the rest of the Thunder team in the paint, making it his game to start.

With Nurkic checking out of the game along with Beal, Erik Gordon and Drew Eubanks entered. What was a 17-7 lead, lasted only another couple minutes until Shai started to heat up, getting the thunder to within three points of the lead.

Ending the first quarter on a 21-7 run, the Thunder doubled KD with Beal on the bench and the Suns were unable to knock down wide-open threes. With Shai lighting Saben Lee up with five quick points to end the first quarter, the Thunder took a 28-24 point lead to start the second.

Thunder forward Jalen Williams had guard duty on Beal to start the second quarter as the Suns relied heavily on Beal to get things going after their offense fell flat to end the first quarter. Beal poked and probed the Thunder defense the best he could, but it was a difficult task to break. Without KD in the lineup, there was more standing around from Suns players, watching Beal work.

Nurkic was then back playing alongside Bol Bol midway through the second quarter. Cleaning up the glass and contesting at the rim, Nurkic continued what he started. Playing bigger than any other player on the floor.

The game then came down to Gordon and if he could make his wide-open shots that were given to him by the Thunder. He was unable to make the Thunder pay and with 3:18 left in the second quarter, the Thunder were able to take control with a 53-42 lead. Without Nurkic, the Suns were lost, losing the ball under pressure and giving up second-chance opportunities.

The Thunder lead then increased to 18 and the boo birds were out at Footprint Center.

It was the turnovers (10) that killed the Suns in the first half with the Thunder taking a 66-52 lead into the half behind SGA’s 18 points.

Second Half

With the Suns having to battle back down 22, heads started to drop and the energy was cooked. KD had a hard time dealing with the double team all game long and continued to turn the ball over and the defense had a hard time closing out on the threes.

After a timeout, the Suns' defense picked up the intensity.

The defense started to swarm SGA, forcing him to move the ball and rely on other players to make a shot, leading to missed shots and one-and-done possessions. The Suns were able to knock down a couple of threes, leading to an 11-0 run and cutting the lead to 86-76.

Brick after brick, the Thunder missed a lot of wide-open threes, helping the Suns cause in getting back into the game. KD led the way with make after make but also continued to keep his teammates involved.

Allen and Eubanks contributed on the defensive end, along with the doubles on the top of the key to keep SGA a little more quiet. The Thunder went cold in the third, only making nine shots and missing 10 threes. The Suns were able to cut the lead to four entering the fourth quarter.

The threes continued to rain for the Suns and they were able to capture their first lead since the first quarter.

Lee played big minutes, grabbing a well-earned five points in helping the Suns maintain the lead, but you could feel the Thunder start to put together a run.

Led by SGA, as the doubles began to fade, the Thunder were on route to end the Suns in a final push to the end. Once SGA entered the paint, it was over. Scoring possession after possession, the lead could not be relinquished by the Suns, falling to the Thunder 118-110.

Up Next

It does not get any easier. The Phoenix Suns head for high altitude on Tuesday, taking on the defending champions- Denver Nuggets. The tip-off is at 8:00 AZ time.