Ajay Mitchell Scores 30 as Short-Handed Thunder Beat Suns 125-114 for Fourth Straight Win
Key Takeaways
- •Ajay Mitchell scored a game-high 30 points to lead the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder to a 125-114 home victory over the Phoenix Suns, lifting the defending champions to a 4-0 start.
- •The Thunder were without starters Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace, who suffered a fractured fibula with a dislocated left ankle and a torn labrum, respectively, and both require surgery with long-term absences expected.
- •Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting, while Isaiah Hartenstein contributed 15 points and 13 rebounds and Aday Mara notched his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
- •Guard Alex Caruso left the game late in the second quarter after turning his right ankle, a potential further setback for an already-thin Oklahoma City rotation.
- •Suns star Devin Booker, who had averaged 33 points over his first two games, finished with just three points on 1-of-7 shooting, his lowest-scoring game since Christmas 2022.
Ajay Mitchell scored 30 points to power the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder to a 125-114 home victory over the Phoenix Suns, a day after the Thunder lost a pair of starters to long-term injuries.
Oklahoma City was playing its first game since All-Star Jalen Williams suffered a fractured fibula and a dislocated left ankle in the closing minutes of the Thunder's win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Earlier in that same game, guard Cason Wallace suffered a torn labrum. Both players will require surgery and are expected to be sidelined long term, and the recovery timelines from those procedures now stand as the natural next checkpoint for a team suddenly navigating a thinned rotation.
The Thunder were also without center Chet Holmgren, who sat out the second night of a back-to-back — a scheduling stretch in which a team plays games on consecutive nights, and a common spot for clubs to rest key players.
Even with three rotation pieces unavailable, Oklahoma City — which won the franchise's first NBA championship in 2025 — had plenty of firepower to outlast the Suns and run its record to 4-0 to start the season. For the defending champions, the early schedule now doubles as a test of depth: how the minutes and scoring load redistribute while Williams and Wallace are out will shape the look of the rotation in the weeks ahead.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the 2024-25 season, scored 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting, with Mitchell's 30 leading the Thunder. Jared McCain added 18 points, and center Isaiah Hartenstein contributed 15 points and 13 rebounds. Aday Mara chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double, the term for double-digit totals in two statistical categories.
The night may have brought another costly setback for the already-thin Thunder. Two-time NBA champion guard Alex Caruso left the game late in the second quarter after turning his right ankle, and any further absence would only stretch a shorthanded rotation — a situation worth tracking when Oklahoma City next takes the floor.
While Oklahoma City's star came up big, Phoenix's Devin Booker struggled. Booker had scored a combined 66 points over the Suns' first two games — an average of 33 per contest — but finished with just three points on 1-of-7 shooting. It was Booker's lowest-scoring game since Christmas 2022, when he left with an injury less than five minutes into a game.
— Reuters
Source: BusinessWorld
