Jalen Williams scores 28 points and the Thunder cruise past the Suns, 136-109

PHOENIX (AP) — Jalen Williams scored 28 points, Isaiah Joe added 21 and the hot-shooting Oklahoma City Thunder cruised to a 136-109 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.

Oklahoma City led by at least 20 points for the entire second half, pushing the advantage to 37 in the third. Williams shot 11 of 12 from the field and added five assists and four rebounds. Joe made 6 of 8 3-pointers.

Kenrich Williams added 15 points and Chet Holmgren had 13. The defending champion Thunder — who have won four of six — shot 58.4% from the field and got 74 points from players coming off the bench.

Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 23 points. Royce O'Neale and Jordan Goodwin both added 12.

The Thunder jumped to a 75-52 lead by halftime, shooting 11 of 18 (61.1%) from 3-point range. Joe came off the bench to lead the Thunder with 15 points before the break. Brooks led the Suns with 14.

Despite the lopsided loss, the Suns go into the All-Star break with a 32-23 record, which is much better than most anticipated after the franchise traded 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant to the Rockets during the summer.

Oklahoma City leads the NBA with a 42-13 record.

Both teams were missing important pieces Wednesday.

The Suns were without guards Devin Booker (ankle), Jalen Green (hamstring) and Grayson Allen (knee). Booker and Green recently came back from injuries and played on Tuesday in a win against the Mavericks, but coach Jordan Ott elected not to risk the their health on the second night of back-to-back games.

Thunder guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell both missed the game with abdominal strains. Gilgeous-Alexander — who missed his fourth straight game — is second in the league in scoring with 31.8 points per game.

Thunder: Host Milwaukee on Thursday night.

Suns: At San Antonio on Thursday, Feb. 19.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kenrich Williams (34) drives on Phoenix Suns guard Amir Coffey during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain (3) drives past Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain scores between Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) and forward Oso Ighodaro during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe drives between Phoenix Suns guard Amir Coffey (17) and forward Ryan Dunn during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) drives on Phoenix Suns forward Oso Ighodaro during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

PHOENIX (AP) — When Jennifer Rizzotti arrived at UConn as a player in 1992, the expectations around the school, as well as the women's basketball landscape, were much different than they are today.

Geno Auriemma was only in his eighth season coaching the Huskies. UConn hadn't yet hoisted a national championship trophy. There wasn't nearly the same pressure to win that the Huskies face now. And women's basketball as a whole hadn't seen the unprecedented growth in sponsorships and popularity it is experiencing now.

By the 1994-95 season, Rizzotti and fellow UConn standout Rebecca Lobo helped the Huskies go undefeated en route to their first national title. Everything about the program changed, and even as women's basketball has evolved and skyrocketed in exposure, the Huskies have remained the gold standard.

“There was no thought that we were going to be undefeated,” Rizzotti said. “We didn't have that internal pressure. We didn't have external pressure. That's the last time a UConn team could play that way. Think about that: 1995 is the last time a UConn team could play without that kind of pressure.”

The Huskies have since won 12 national titles, reached the Final Four 25 times and won 30 conference titles. They've been ranked 653 weeks in The Associated Press women's basketball poll, and Auriemma is the winningest coach in women's college basketball history.

As conversations around the Final Four in Phoenix center around how the women's game has grown, the Huskies, who are competing for the second straight national title, have been at the forefront.

“You could tell that everything was aligned for this program to reach that pinnacle," said Rizzotti, who is currently the president of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun. “I don't think anything of us would have predicted that it would have gone on as it had.”

Rizzotti joined former UConn players Stefanie Dolson, currently with the WNBA's Washington Mystics, and Shea Ralph, now Vanderbilt's coach, on a panel Friday at “The AP Top 25 Fan Poll Experience,” which is being held at Arizona State’s First Amendment Forum in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Earlier Friday, Big East commissioner Val Ackerman, former Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) commissioner Rich Ensor and AP women’s poll founder Mel Greenberg spoke on a panel moderated by college basketball analyst Debbie Antonelli on the growth of women's basketball at the college and pro levels.

“I think women's basketball has never been more popular,” said Ackerman, who was the first president of the WNBA from 1996-2005. “I think schools that are succeeding are really seeing, feeling and believing in the (return on investment). And UConn's a case in point.”

Ackerman sees the investment that the schools in this year's Final Four — UConn, Texas, South Carolina, and UCLA — have made in their programs to reach back-to-back national semifinals as a reflection of the growing importance of pouring resources into women's hoops.

“And that's done a world of good,” she added. “Programs like South Carolina, UCLA, you see what they're doing for their campuses. The investment is paying off in terms of the brand and engagement with the community and school reputation.”

Even as women's sports are drawing record crowds and WNBA players are set to make more money than ever, Ensor sees much more room to capitalize on this current growth.

“It has been about breaking down barriers, and they still exist,” Ensor said. “We marvel at what's happened, but we still recognize there's a lot more that's to come.”

AP Top 25 Fan Poll Experience: https://apnews.com/https:/apnews.com/projects/arizona-state-fan-poll-experience/

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

FILE - Connecticut's Breanna Stewart, left, drives to the basket as Cincinnati's Maya Benham, right, defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)

From left, Debbie Antonelli, Val Ackerman, Rich Ensor and Mel Greenberg sit on a panel during an event Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Val Ackerman, commissioner of the Big East Conference, listens during an event Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/John Locher)

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma reacts after his team defeated Notre Dame in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)