NBA Basketball
2026-04-25 - Oklahoma City Thunder at Phoenix Suns
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : NBA Basketball Playoffs First Round Game 3
Saturday 25th April 2026 - Scheduled 3:30pm EST
8:30pm (British Time)
Preview
Game 2 was closer than Game 1 on the final scoreboard, but the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated again and were leading by 23 points heading into the Fourth Quarter. They lost a bit of focus after the injury suffered by Jalen Williams, but the Thunder would have felt relatively calm and they are in a strong position at 2-0 in this First Round Series.
Losing Jalen Williams for this Series will hurt, but it is not going to hold the Thunder back, although if the hamstring injury is more serious, the absence will be felt the deeper into the post-season that Oklahoma City go.
He is almost certainly missing the next two games in Phoenix as the Oklahoma City Thunder bid to move through to the Second Round without having to suit up at home again.
The Phoenix Suns will be hoping a change of venue can help in their bid to be more competitive- they did shoot the ball a bit better in Game 2 compared with the opener, but the Suns had to scratch and claw to keep up with the Thunder early, and never recovered when the top Seed began to pull away.
Most will expect the Suns are here a year earlier than anticipated, but they will want to avoid being swept away without offering better resistance and using the home crowd is the key. Having Grayson Allen and Jordan Goodwin back in the lineup would be a big boost in trying to achieve that, but it still feels like a very tall task for the Suns.
They did get stronger contributions from players that are not called Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks and being at home does tend to free up those role players to produce better basketball. However, the Suns will know they are facing a significant challenge on the Defensive side of the court and that even before the Thunder find their stroke from the three point arc.
It is clear the Thunder would like to have Jalen Williams with them rather than on the sidelines, but this is a team who played more than half of the regular season games without him and still finished with a 39-10 record.
So while the absence hurts, the Oklahoma City Thunder should still have too much for this Phoenix Suns team and they can move to the brink of the Western Conference Second Round behind another double digit win over this opponent.
Big home underdogs in Game 3 of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs have a losing record against the spread and the Thunder should be motivated enough to want to progress without facing too many bumps in the road. All of the wins over the Phoenix Suns this season have come in games where Oklahoma City have been able to pull away from the Number 8 Seed and they can do the same on Saturday afternoon.
Prediction
The top Seed in the Western Conference look to have too much for the Phoenix Suns and that may mean another game in which the Oklahoma City Thunder pull away for a double digit win.
The Pick :
Phoenix Suns 104-116 Oklahoma City Thunder
