Thunder's second straight dominant Game 1 win puts them in elite company alongside Showtime Lakers

The Oklahoma City Thunder were frequently dominant while posting the NBA’s best record this season.

But they flipped a switch on Sunday into playoff mode as they began their quest for a second straight NBA championship in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns managed to keep things close in the opening minutes of a game that was tied at 12-12. But the Thunder closed the first quarter on a 23-8 run to enter the second with a 35-20 lead. From there, it was a runaway for a 119-84 OKC win.

It wasn’t quite the opening salvo the Thunder delivered in their playoff opener last season, a 131-80 thrashing of the Memphis Grizzlies. But it puts them in elite company.

Per ESPN, the Thunder are now the second team in NBA history to post a 30-plus point wins in in a second consecutive playoff opener The other team to do it? The 1986-87 Showtime Los Angeles Lakers.

The 1985-86 Lakers opened their playoffs with a 135-88 drubbing of the San Antonio Spurs. Those playoffs ended in a loss to the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference finals.

Their next postseason started with a 128-95 win over the Denver Nuggets. Those playoffs ended with a win over the rival Boston Celtics for the fourth NBA championship of the Showtime era. They followed up with another championship the following season, this time with a win over the Detroit Pistons in the Finals.