A 119-84 victory leaves three teams unable to smile, the Suns suffer a crushing defeat in despair, while the Lakers and Rockets tremble with fear.

On April 20 Beijing time, the NBA Western Conference first round kicked off, with the defending champion Thunder taking on the Suns in their initial game. The Thunder broke through like a storm, overwhelming the Suns 119-84 to seize a powerful win. Undeniably, the Thunder are incredibly strong. This victory made three teams frown: the Suns endured a devastating loss in despair, and the Lakers and Rockets shivered, reluctant to encounter the Thunder prematurely!

Everyone knows the Thunder are the defending champions. This season, despite an incomplete roster, they still displayed formidable combat strength, leading the Western Conference as the top team and securing a top-six spot to directly enter the playoffs early. The Suns, ranked seventh in the play-in zone, had two chances. Although they lost to the Trail Blazers, they eliminated the Warriors to lock in the eighth seed in the West. Thus, the Thunder and Suns met in the first round, with the Thunder remaining the biggest favorite to win the championship!

In this round, the Thunder played at home aiming for an opening victory. After a brief stalemate at the start, the Thunder ignited first, with multiple players scoring to overwhelm the Suns, ending the first quarter with a 35-20 lead. In the second quarter, the Thunder pressed forward, gaining a 6-point advantage per quarter, pushing the halftime gap past 20 points. In the second half, the Suns made constant errors while the Thunder’s offense remained relentless, continuing to assault the Suns and widen the lead, adding 10 points per quarter to reach a 30-point difference. By the final quarter, the悬念 was dead; both sides pulled their starters. Though shooting accuracy plummeted, the Thunder still压制 the Suns,最终 the Thunder碾压 and crushed the Suns, winning by a massive 35 points!

From this game’s perspective, it lacked any观赏性, being entirely one-sided, which shows the vast gap in strength between the two teams. The Thunder were too fierce, with three players scoring double-digits to secure a big win—Alexander had 25 points but took 17 free throws. As the Thunder crushed the Suns, this victory left three teams unable to smile. First, it绝望 the Suns, showing no possibility of an upset win; they are likely to be swept 4-0 and淘汰回家. Second and third, the Lakers and Rockets are unhappy; whichever team advances, facing the Thunder in such a猛烈的 state makes winning difficult, with a high probability of losing!

By Sports Story