The Oklahoma City Thunder had a chance to make a statement on Sunday in their game against the Phoenix Suns. They’ve been neck-and-neck with the Minnesota Timberwolves all season long, battling for the #1 seed and home court advantage in the upcoming postseason.
Thunder Beat Suns, Now Alone In First Place In The West
The Thunder are the No. 1 seed in the West ⭐️
Give me one reason why this squad won’t win it all this year. pic.twitter.com/AOQ3vH69Zo
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 4, 2024
And thanks to their decisive victory and the loss by Minnesota earlier in the day, they are officially alone in first place in the Western Conference.
It is a place that has been mostly unfamiliar to the Thunder. They’ve been hot on the tail of the Wolves for the entirety of the season, since November 19th, Minnesota has had at least a share of the top spot in the West for 99 of 103 days. The two teams have the same amount of wins (as do the Nuggets), but OKC has one fewer loss than both.
The Thunder are hoping that they can keep things up and stay atop the conference longer than a day or two. The Wolves are just 3-3 in their last six games, with their wins coming against some of the NBA’s worst. They’ve lost their last two, and have a 12-day, 6-game road trip that begins on Thursday, meaning that they’ll have to be at their best to remain in contention for home court.
Wolves, Nuggets Still Within A Half-Game Of OKC
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lead the NBA with 45 thirty-point games LAST season.
He now leads the league with forty-five 30-point games THIS season (6 weeks remaining) 🤯 pic.twitter.com/LXtbBIMjac
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 4, 2024
The Thunder had won 6 in a row before inexplicably dropping a game against the lowly Spurs on Thursday. But getting the win that pushes them into the #1 spot is huge, and they have more winnable games coming up on the schedule. None of their next 9 opponents are currently ranked higher than 5th in their respective conferences, though they will face off against teams like the Lakers, Mavericks, and Heat during the stretch.
Both the Timberwolves and Nuggets will start the coming week a half-game back of the Thunder. The latter has come on strong as of late, as Nikola Jokić and company appear to be gaining their playoff form. They have won six straight since losing three in a row before the All-Star break.
The Suns will drop down to the 7th spot in the West with the loss, now percentage points behind the Sacramento Kings for the idol 6th seed.
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