Limited to just 33 games in the regular season by a series of injuries, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams never really developed much of a rhythm.

However, after his 22-point, seven-rebound, six-assist performance in the Thunder’s 119-84 Game 1 win over the Phoenix Suns in their first-round playoff series, Williams looks as if he is finally returning to form after being a key piece in last season’s championship run.

“He’s been out for so long, we knew it was going to take some time for him to get back to himself,” Oklahoma City’s Luguentz Dort said. “But he is now. He’s confident, real aggressive.”

The series continues Wednesday when the Thunder and Suns meet in Oklahoma City for Game 2.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said his approach to making adjustments for the second game, after Oklahoma City built a big lead early and then maintained it in on Sunday in the series opener, was an open-minded one.

“We try to look at it more like a menu and less like a prediction,” Daigneault said. “We’re not going to try to guess. You don’t know what they’re going to do.

“There’s a lot of different directions they could go in. We try to understand what all those directions are — could be different lineups, it could be different tactics, could just be the same ones and try to execute them better. We try to account for all that, just make sure our team has contingencies.”

Among the improvements Phoenix coach Jordan Ott said his team must make in Game 2 is to avoid being in isolation against the Thunder’s defense.

While the Suns’ Dillon Brooks said the approach was a good one overall, he also said he wouldn’t avoid such matchups against fellow Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

“He’s a good defender overall, but I just like the matchup,” Brooks said. “Team Canada, we’ve been going at it for a while. I won’t forget our one-on-ones that we had in Paris. … You see a guy like that going hard on the offensive end all game and trying to get a rest on defense, I’ll find a way to make him use his legs, use his hands, use his mind on that defensive end.”

Brooks had 18 points on 6-of-22 shooting in Game 1, while Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points but hit just 5 of 18 from the field.

Ott said Brooks has been one of the tone-setters for the Suns, not only through the season but in the play-in tournament and now the playoffs as well.

“That edge we talk about is super impactful for our culture and environment since Day 1,” Ott said. “He’s been in these playoff battles. Knows that it’s a series. You gotta play with that edge. It helped us get going.”

Phoenix’s Grayson Allen (hamstring) has missed the last four games, though he was listed as available for the last two. Allen went through some drills after practice on Tuesday and appears close to a return. He was listed as questionable on the injury report.

Suns center Mark Williams, who missed the past two games with a foot injury, was wearing a soft boot at practice while Jordan Goodwin, who left Game 1 with a calf injury, was wearing a black sleeve on his left leg. Both are also considered questionable.

–Field Level Media

Brice Turang drove in four runs and the visiting Milwaukee Brewers opened their three-game series at Detroit by pounding the Tigers, 12-4, on Tuesday.

William Contreras had two hits, drove in two runs and scored another for the Brewers. David Hamilton supplied four hits and scored twice, while Sal Frelick, Luis Rengifo and Blake Perkins each scored two runs and drove in another.

Starter Kyle Harrison gave up one run and four hits in three-plus innings. Grant Anderson (1-1) tossed two innings of scoreless relief to get the win.

Detroit starter Keider Montero (1-2) allowed three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Small ball allowed the Brewers to gain a 3-0 lead in the second. Garrett Mitchell reached on an infield single and Rengifo walked. Frelick brought in Mitchell with a single and Hamilton’s bunt hit loaded the bases. Turang followed with a broken bat single to right, knocking home Rengifo and Frelick.

Detroit broke through with a run in the fourth but came away disappointed it didn’t get more. Greene and Spencer Torkelson walked and Hao-Yu Lee singled to load the bases. Anderson replaced Harrison and promptly got Javier Baez to hit into a double play as Greene scored. Anderson then struck out pinch-hitter Kerry Carpenter.

A botched pickoff allowed the Brewers to extend their lead in the seventh. Enmanuel De Jesus got the first two outs of the inning. Hamilton then singled and Perkins walked. With Turang up, De Jesus caught Hamilton straying off second base but his throw was errant, allowing Hamilton to scamper to third. Turang then singled to left to score him and Contreras knocked in Perkins with another single.

Milwaukee erupted for seven runs in the eighth against De Jesus and Connor Seabold to make it 12-1. Gary Sanchez led off with a triple and Mitchell followed with another. Rengifo dropped in a bloop single to score Mitchell. Perkins, Turang, Conteras, Jake Bauers and Sanchez had the other RBIs during the outburst.

Detroit backup catcher Jake Rogers pitched the ninth. The Tigers scored three runs in the bottom of the inning.

–Field Level Media

Elly De La Cruz recorded his sixth career multi-homer game and drove in five runs, fueling the Cincinnati Reds to a 12-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday in St. Petersburg, Fla.

De La Cruz launched a two-run blast in the first inning and a solo shot in the ninth to boost his homer total to eight on the season and sixth while batting right-handed. He had five homers in 199 at-bats while hitting right-handed in 2025.

De La Cruz also had a fielder’s choice as part of a four-run sixth inning and an RBI single in the seventh.

Cincinnati’s Ke’Bryan Hayes and Dane Myers launched back-to-back homers in the second inning and Spencer Steer added a solo shot in the fifth.

Rookie Sal Stewart had a two-run single and a sacrifice fly for the Reds, who improved to 10-2 away from home after winning five in a row to start a six-game road trip.

Chase Burns (2-1) allowed two runs on four hits and struck out eight batters in 5 2/3 innings. His lone blemish was Jonathan Aranda’s two-run homer in the sixth inning.

Aranda and Ben Williamson each added a bases-loaded walk and Jonny DeLuca had a two-run double in the ninth inning for Tampa Bay, which has been outscored 24-10 during its three-game losing streak.

Myers worked a leadoff walk in the first inning and De La Cruz deposited a 2-0 sinker from Steven Matz (3-1) over the wall in right-center field to give the Reds a quick 2-0 lead.

Cincinnati doubled its advantage as Hayes and Myers each went deep with two outs in the second inning.

Steer continued the power display in the fifth inning by sending a 1-1 fastball from Griffin Jax over the wall in left-center field.

Matz struggled to find the zone, tossing just 44 of his 77 pitches for strikes before exiting after three innings. He permitted four runs on as many hits with four walks.

The Reds put the game out of reach in the sixth inning.

Matt McLain ripped an RBI double and Myers scored after he used a swim move to deftly elude the tag of catcher Hunter Feduccia on De La Cruz’s fielder’s choice. McLain and De La Cruz promptly stole a base before coming home on Stewart’s two-run single to extend Cincinnati’s lead to 9-0.

–Field Level Media