The defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder won a franchise record 16th straight game as they handed the Phoenix Suns a historic loss.

Two teams that had hoped to be basking in the bright lights of Las Vegas this weekend will have to settle for a different Southwestern site when the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns duel outside the spotlight of the NBA Cup on Sunday night in Arizona.

PHOENIX -- Ever since the Phoenix Suns acquired Dillon Brooks this summer, he has spearheaded a huge culture shift that has led to Phoenix completely changing its identity and surpassing all preseason expectations to this point with a 14-11 record so far.

The Phoenix Suns face the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Dec. 10.

Reportedly, the Phoenix Suns’ interest in Jonathan Kuminga has dropped off considerably from where it was during the summer..

The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Cup Quarterfinal matchup with the right to head to Vegas on the line to continue their pursuit of the cash prize and NBA Cup title.

Brooks paced the Suns with 16 points on 4-of-16 shooting. Phoenix lost the possession game as Oklahoma City attempted four more shots from the field, trailed the last 47 minutes and 53 seconds of play and only scored six points off seven offensive rebounds.

The explosive guard missed the team’s first eight games before making his season debut Nov. 6 against the Los Angeles Clippers. He delivered a 29-point performance, hitting six 3s, the most in a Suns debut, in Phoenix’s 115-102 victory.

PHOENIX (AZFamily/AP) — The Phoenix Suns have an additional game on their schedule after they were eliminated from the Emirates NBA Cup on Wednesday by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Phoenix will now play the Los Angeles Lakers in a regular-season game at Mortgage Matchup Center at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14.

It was an expected result in some ways for the Phoenix Suns on Friday but an unexpected ultra-competitive effort had them advance to the NBA Cup knockout stage.

After losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder last night in the Quarterfinals of the NBA Cup, the Phoenix Suns will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, December 14th 6:00pm Phoenix Time.

Allen was ejected after he shoved Thunder star Chet Holmgren while attempting to get around a screen in the third quarter of their blowout 138-89 loss to Oklahoma City at the Paycom Center. Allen extended hard with both arms and sent Holmgren flying to the ground, which sparked a bit of an altercation on the floor.