NBA highlights on March 3: Suns fail to come back on Nurkic's career night

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Phoenix Suns 118-110 at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday, rising to lead the Western Conference.

The Thunder led by as many as 24 points (80-56) in the third quarter, but then watched the Suns rally quickly and trailed again in the fourth period after falling behind by 13 points (17-4) in the third period.

However, the Thunder managed to gain their lead back in the fourth quarter in the same way as they did in the first half: stealing the ball and launching fast breaks for easy buckets repeatedly. They had a total of 16 steals in Sunday's game, including seven in the second and six in the fourth periods. As a result, the Suns committed 21 turnovers in the game, including 10 in the second and six in the fourth quarters.

These transitional attacks translated into 18 points and enabled the Thunder to lead in points 54-44 in the paint. The Suns trailed 117-110 when there were 1:52 left in the fourth period. It was difficult, but not impossible to wipe, especially considering the explosive scoring ability of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. Nonetheless, the Suns committed two turnovers with their following three plays, blowing their final chances to come back.

The Thunder had five players who got at least two steals on Sunday night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) had three steals, three blocks, and shot 15-for-27 from the field. Though he missed all five of his triples, he made 11 of his 16 jumpers within the 3-point line to score 35 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, with only one turnover.

The other two of the Thunder's new "Big Three," Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, got 22 and 14 points respectively. Williams contributed three steals as well. Holmgren grabbed team-high four offensive rebounds.

The Suns had a great start in Sunday's game with an early double-digit-point lead, which, yet, was soon gone because of a long-term flaw of their roster: the lack of a true point guard. As Devin Booker sat out Sunday's game due to an ankle injury, both Durant and Beal tried to shoulder more orchestrating duties.

However, such intentions didn't end well for the Suns. Both were more of "scorers who could pass" instead of "playmakers in their positions." If they launched their attack right after receiving the ball, the Thunder didn't have good enough defensive resources to contain the two of them at the same time. Beal went 10-for-14 in field goals (FGs) to score 31 points on Sunday night; Durant made all four shots of his to contribute 10 points in the third quarter when he focused on scoring.

Nonetheless, both failed to remain resolute for the whole game. When they slowed down to dribble, they gave the Thunder's defenders to double-team them. Durant and Beal combined to deliver nine assists, but with 12 turnovers.

Sunday's loss also ruined a career night for Jusuf Nurkic who had career-high 31 rebounds, including 13 on the offensive glass. Even with his dominance on the board, the Suns still shot 11 fewer FGs than the Thunder. Such a gap again highlighted how much the turnovers cost the home team.

Other games on Sunday (away teams come first):

Los Angeles Clippers 89-88 Minnesota Timberwolves

The Clippers overcame a 16-point deficit at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to beat the Timberwolves for the first time this season. Kawhi Leonard went 12-for-26 from the field to drop 32 points for the Clippers. Norman Powell took over his load off the bench and contributed 24 points after knocking down six 3-pointers out of eight attempts. James Harden missed all 10 of his FG attempts, but delivered 10 assists with only one turnover.

The Timberwolves committed as many as 15 turnovers, which were a lot in a slow game since neither side surpassed 85 FG attempts. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns combined to contribute six of those turnovers and miss 22 of their 38 shots to get 45 points. They were replaced by the Thunder in the West's leading position after this loss.

New York Knicks 107-98 Cleveland Cavaliers

The Knicks lost their ace Jalen Brunson less than one minute into Sunday's game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. He exited the competition with discomfort in his left knee and had no contact with anyone when it happened.

Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart and the Knicks' backup unit stepped out to shoulder the offensive duties of Brunson. DiVincenzo and Miles McBride combined to drain 10 triples. Bojan Bogdanovic added 20 points off the bench. Hart got his third triple-double of the season with 13 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists.

The Cavaliers had no player reach 20 points on Sunday night. They were outscored 36-25 in the third quarter in which the team missed 11 of their 14 shots behind the arc. They dropped to the third place in the Eastern Conference after this loss.

Philadelphia 76ers 120-116 Dallas Mavericks

Golden State Warriors 88-140 Boston Celtics

Detroit Pistons 91-113 Orlando Magic

Charlotte Hornets 106-111 Toronto Raptors

Indiana Pacers 105-117 San Antonio Spurs