Gilgeous-Alexander drops 42 as Thunder push Suns to brink of being swept

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gilgeous-alexander-shai/d6TE5wgc/"]Gilgeous[/a]-Alexander, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player and a finalist for this year's MVP, connected on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/basketball/oklahoma-city-thunder-0fHFHEWD/phoenix-suns-M1Gy2pra/?mid=xKFaVtTs"]15-of-18 shots[/a] from the floor on the way to a career-playoff high.[/p][p][b]"(I was) just trying to let the game come to me, use my teammates out there as weapons,"[/b] Gilgeous-Alexander told broadcaster NBC after the defending champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/oklahoma-city-thunder/0fHFHEWD/"]Thunder[/a] moved within one win of advancing to the Western Conference semi-finals.[/p][p][b]"I know they're going to try to make it tough on me, make me play in the crowd," [/b]added Gilgeous-Alexander, who made 11-of-12 free throw attempts. [b]"The guys did a great job of just playing outside of that tonight ... we looked pretty good out there."[/b][/p][embed guid="3322b385-2318-463c-bcac-15849a11d9b1" url="https://x.com/NBA/status/2048165626808529262?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Gilgeous-Alexander made his first nine shots before his first miss midway through the third quarter. He corralled the rebound from that missed three-pointer and stepped in to make a mid-range jumper.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/brooks-dillon/WrpCfI6r/"]Dillon Brooks[/a] scored 33 points for the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/phoenix-suns/M1Gy2pra/"]Suns[/a], who grabbed an early nine-point lead and kept it close in the second quarter but couldn't find a way to stop Gilgeous-Alexander down the stretch.[/p][p][b]"We just stuck with it,"[/b] Gilgeous-Alexander said.[b] "We did a good job of just staying true to who we are through the adversity, through the crowd, through a really good team on the road."[/b][/p][embed guid="7da38fdf-155e-4610-9e0b-74f85654c078" url="https://x.com/NBA/status/2048187538444099867?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mitchell-ajay/zwwlrGJG/"]Ajay Mitchell[/a] scored 15 points, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/caruso-alex/j3T3c42g/"]Alex Caruso[/a] added 13 off the bench for the Thunder, who are trying to become the first repeat champions since [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/golden-state-warriors/SxUtXqch/"]Golden State[/a] in 2017 and 2018.[/p][p]They'll try to polish off a sweep in the best-of-seven series on Monday in Phoenix, where the Suns will be painfully aware that no NBA team has rallied from 0-3 down to win a playoff series.[/p]