Gilgeous-Alexander scores 31 and Thunder outlast Suns 131-122 to cap a 4-game sweep

PHOENIX (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, Chet Holmgren added 24 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 131-122 on Monday night, capping a four-game sweep in the first-round series.

The Thunder — who have a 12-0 record in the first round over the last three seasons — will face the winner of the Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets series in the Western Conference semifinals. The Lakers have a 3-1 lead, though the Rockets won Game 4.

Phoenix has a 10-game losing streak in the playoffs, dating to 2023.

The Thunder closed the series with an overwhelming offensive performance — making 17 of 34 (50%) 3-pointers — and their big men played particularly well. The 7-foot-1 Holmgren shot 9 of 16 from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds, while the 7-foot Isaiah Hartenstein added 18 points and 12 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.

Ajay Mitchell added 22 points and made four 3-pointers. Alex Caruso finished with 14 points and hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter.

Gilgeous-Alexander was reliable as usual. Two days after scoring 42 points in Game 3, he had another efficient performance, shooting 10 of 17 from the field.

The Suns showed some fight in the second half, cutting a 15-point deficit to 106-98 entering the fourth. Devin Booker scored 12 points in the third quarter on 5-of-8 shooting.

But every time the Suns got within a few possessions, the Thunder responded. Cason Wallace hit a corner 3 with 5:54 left to extend the Oklahoma City lead to 120-106. Gilgeous-Alexander followed with a spectacular layup, somehow getting the shot to fall over three defenders.

Booker led the Suns with 24 points while Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green added 23. Collin Gillespie added 20 points while making six 3-pointers.

The Thunder pushed to a 75-67 lead by halftime after shooting 61.4% from the floor and 60% from 3-point range, hitting 12 of 20 behind the arc. Gilgeous-Alexander had 17 before the break, making a wide-open 3-pointer just before halftime.

That offset a hot shooting start for the Suns, who made 11 of 20 3-pointers. Gillespie scored 17 before the break, making all six of his shots, including five 3s.

The Thunder were without starter Jalen Williams, who missed his second straight game because of a left hamstring strain. Suns center Mark Williams (foot) and guard Jordan Goodwin (calf) were also out.

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

Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) shoots over Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) during the first half of Game 4 in a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series, Monday, April 27, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault shouts instructions to his players during the first half of Game 4 in a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Phoenix Suns, Monday, April 27, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) argues with referee Jacyn Goble (68) before getting a technical foul called on him during the first half of Game 4 in a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Monday, April 27, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie, right, regains control of the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during the first half of Game 4 in a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series, Monday, April 27, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoot a 3-pointer against Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) during the first half of Game 4 in a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series, Monday, April 27, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces more heat Tuesday over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, with lawmakers set to vote on whether he should be investigated by a parliamentary standards watchdog over the ill-fated decision.

Starmer’s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney also is due to be testify to a group of legislators probing how Mandelson, a scandal-tainted friend of Jeffrey Epstein, was given the key diplomatic job despite failing security checks.

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee will quiz McSweeney on Tuesday morning, before the whole house debates a demand by the opposition Conservative Party for Parliament’s Privileges Committee to investigate Starmer’s explanations of how Mandelson came to be appointed.

Both are potentially dangerous moments for Starmer, who has spent weeks fending off calls to resign over the Mandelson saga. Starmer fired Mandelson in September after new details emerged about the ambassador's friendship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019.

Police opened an investigation into Mandelson in February over allegations he passed on sensitive government information to Epstein when he was a member of the British government in 2009.

McSweeney, a protégé of Mandelson who served as Starmer’s top aide, resigned in February, saying he took responsibility for appointing him as ambassador. He is certain to be asked about allegations by Olly Robbins, the former top civil servant at the Foreign Office, that Starmer’s staff pressured officials to rush through the confirmation so Mandelson could be in the post at the start of U.S. President Donald Trump ’s second term.

Starmer has denied that anyone in his office put pressure on the civil service.

The prime minister fired Robbins earlier this month after the revelation that Mandelson was approved for the job against the recommendation of the government’s security vetting agency. Starmer has called it “staggering” that Foreign Office officials failed to tell him about the security concerns.

Critics say Starmer’s decision to appoint Mandelson in the first place is evidence of bad judgment by a prime minister who has made repeated missteps since he led the center-left Labour Party to a landslide election victory in July 2024.

Starmer already defused one potential crisis in February, when some Labour lawmakers urged him to quit over the Mandelson appointment. He could face a new challenge if, as expected, Labour takes a hammering in local and regional elections on May 7, which give voters a chance to pass a midterm verdict on the government.

It’s unclear whether enough Labour lawmakers will vote with the opposition on Tuesday to refer Starmer to the Privileges Committee, which has the power to suspend lawmakers, including the prime minister, from Parliament, for breaches of the rules.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer had “misled the House of Commons repeatedly” when he said “full due process” was followed over Mandelson’s appointment.

The prime minister’s office called Tuesday’s vote “a desperate political stunt by the Conservative Party the week before the May elections.”

Censure by the committee also exerts considerable moral pressure to resign. Its investigation into lockdown-breaking gatherings in government offices during the COVID-19 pandemic helped end the political career of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Johnson quit as a lawmaker in 2023 after the committee found that he had repeatedly misled Parliament over the “Partygate” scandal.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech in north-west England, Britain, Monday, April 27, 2026. (Temilade Adelaja/Pool Photo via AP)