The Oklahoma City Thunder hardly broke a sweat as they annihilated the Phoenix Suns by nearly 50 points, 138-89, in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup at Paycom Center on Wednesday.
The domination was even more highlighted after the Thunder tied the league record with their 24-1 start. The Golden State Warriors had the same start en route to their record-setting 73-9 campaign in the 2015-16 season.
The Thunder also set a team record with their 16th straight victory.
Moreover, NBA statistician Keerthika Uthayakumar noted that Oklahoma City has outscored opponents by 437 points this season, which is the largest differential through the first 25 games in league history.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the charge with 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting and eight assists. Chet Holmgren added 24 points added 24 points, including 4-of-4 three-pointers, eight rebounds, and three blocks.
At one point, it seemed like Oklahoma City was leading by as much 800,000 points, as Phoenix looked totally helpless. The Thunder shot 59% from the field, while limiting the Suns to just 39%. They made 22 of their 40 attempts from deep. They also had 32 assists and forced 21 turnovers, scoring 34 points off the errors.
The blowout will only louden the chatter if the Thunder can reach 70 wins or even break the aforementioned record of the Warriors. With the way they've been playing, it's hard not to think about the lofty possibilities.
OKC will face the winner between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs in the other bracket.
