Tip-Off: 7 PM CT

Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

Television: FSOK

Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal

Twitter: Follow @TheThunderGuys for live-tweets during the game

The Oklahoma City Thunder will look to extend their two-game winning streak tonight as they host the Sacramento Kings. The Thunder leads the season series with the Kings 2-1, but each game has come with its own level of difficulty.

In the most recent matchup on February 22, the Thunder exploded for a season-high 44 points in the first quarter to take a 23-point lead, but the Kings would battle back to take the lead at the end of the third. Oklahoma City would hold on to get the victory, but it wasn’t pretty.

Since then, the Thunder has won six of nine games, while the Kings have won only three of nine games. The three Sacramento wins have all come against teams out of playoff contention, but of Oklahoma City’s six wins, only one has come against a playoff team.

The Thunder has played a better brand of basketball over the last two games, and Corey Brewer in the starting lineup has made an incredibly positive impact. Oklahoma City needs to show up and show out in front of the home crowd tonight and pick up another necessary win in order to keep their chances of home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs alive.

Projected Starters

Thunder

• PG: Russell Westbrook
• SG: Corey Brewer
• SF: Paul George
• PF: Carmelo Anthony
• C: Steven Adams

Kings

• PG: Garret Temple
• SG: Bogdan Bogdanovic
• SF: Justin Jackson
• PF: Skal Labissiere
• C: Kosta Koufos

Injuries

Thunder

• Steven Adams (left ankle sprain) is QUESTIONABLE.
• Andre Roberson (rupture left patellar tendon) is OUT.
• Terrance Ferguson (concussion protocol) is OUT.

Kings

• Harry Giles (bi-lateral knee rehab) is OUT.
• Iman Shumpert (post-surgical left knee rehab and left plantar fasciitis) is OUT.

Head-to-Head

• Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 28-8 against the Kings (16-1 at home, 12-7 on the road).
• Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the regular season series against the Kings eight times and tied it once.
• The Thunder won last year’s regular season series with the Kings 2-1.
• The Thunder is 2-1 against the Kings so far this season (1-0 at home, 1-1 on the road).
• The Thunder recorded 16 steals against the Kings in Sacramento on November 7, which is tied for the most steals by the Thunder in a game all season.
• The Thunder grabbed 58 rebounds against the Kings in Oklahoma City on January 15, which is good for the 2nd-most by the Thunder in a game all season.
• The Thunder scored 44 points in the first quarter against the Kings in Sacramento on February 22, which is the highest-scoring quarter of the season for the Thunder.
• Steven Adams tied a career-high 12 free throw attempts against the Kings in Oklahoma City on January 15. He also recorded four blocks against the Kings in Sacramento on February 22, which ties the high for any Thunder player in a game this season.
• Carmelo Anthony recorded seven made three-pointers against the Kings in Sacramento on February 22, which ties the high for most made by any Thunder player in a game this season.

Game Notes

• Oklahoma City has won two games in a row, while Sacramento recently lost to the Denver Nuggets.
• Oklahoma City is 7-3 in the last 10 games, while Sacramento is 3-7.
• Oklahoma City is 23-11 at home, while Sacramento is 10-24 on the road.
• Oklahoma City is 23-20 against the Western Conference, while Sacramento is 10-32.
• Oklahoma City is 23-18 coming off one day of rest, while Sacramento is 2-11 coming off two days of rest.
• With 14 games left in the season, the Thunder is currently sixth in the Western Conference, only 2 games back of third, but also only 1.5 games ahead of the teams in eighth through tenth.

Be sure to check out this week’s episode of Thunder Things with the Thunder Guys.

Article written by Zack Low. Follow @TheThunderGuys on Twitter & Instagram, and like us on Facebook.