Why Thunder view Ajay Mitchell as a 'winner' after Game 3 win over Suns

Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) drives past Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Bumping his way through Collin Gillespie's defense, Ajay Mitchell muscled his way to the paint. He went up for a floater that drilled in. Rinse and repeat that sequence. Promoting the 23-year-old to the starting lineup, he licked his chops at the vacated scoring looks up for grabs.

The Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away late for a 121-109 Game 3 win over the Phoenix Suns. They now hold an ironclad 3-0 series lead in their Round 1 matchup.

Mitchell finished with 15 points on 5-of-20 shooting, six rebounds and two assists. He shot 1-of-5 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws.

This is what the NBA playoffs are about. Leaving it all on the floor — to your last drop of sweat. Without Jalen Williams, the Thunder badly needed someone else to step up as OKC's second-best scorer. In comes Mitchell, who's made a habit of being able to scale up or down whatever they need out of him.

In his biggest test yet, Mitchell showed he's not afraid of the moment. That's not something you can universally say about every second-year player. Especially one who was mostly sidelined in OKC's championship run last year. He had 10 points in the first half and five big-time ones in the final frame.

The efficiency is a little grotesque. Mitchell developed some bad tunnel vision, but eh, screw it. It's the playoffs. You just need buckets. No matter how pretty or ugly they get. There's no replacing Williams' production one-for-one — especially considering how stellar he looked through six quarters — but the 23-year-old helped the Thunder keep their non-Gilgeous-Alexander offense above water. That's all Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault asked for.