Tip-Off: 12 PM CT
Location: Air Canada Centre (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Television: FSOK
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @TheThunderGuys for live-tweets during the game
The Oklahoma City Thunder is riding a five-game win streak coming into a noon matchup with the Toronto Raptors today. The Raptors hold the East’s top spot and one of the league’s longest winning streaks at 11.
The Thunder came out on top in their previous meeting with the Raptors on December 27 when Oklahoma City’s Big 4 of Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, and Steven Adams combined for 99 points. Since that game, Toronto has gone 29-7, the second-best record in that time-span, while Oklahoma City has gone 22-14, which is 9th best in the NBA in that time.
Every game is important right now for the Thunder as they are still competing to lock down homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs, and though the Raptors hold a 5-game advantage on first place in the East, they don’t appear to be letting up any time soon. A 12 PM tip-off is an odd one for NBA players, but hopefully it doesn’t affect the Thunder in a negative way and they can pull out a key win on the road.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Russell Westbrook
- SG: Corey Brewer
- SF: Paul George
- PF: Carmelo Anthony
- C: Steven Adams
Raptors
- PG: Kyle Lowry
- SG: DeMar DeRozan
- SF: Og Anunoby
- PF: Serge Ibaka
- C: Jonas Valanciunas
Injuries
Thunder
- Andre Roberson (left patellar surgery) is OUT.
Raptors
- Norman Powell (left ankle sprain) is DOUBTFUL.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 11-7 against the Raptors in the regular season (6-4 at home, 5-3 on the road).
- In nine seasons, the Thunder has won the season series with the Raptors three times, lost it once, and tied it five times.
- The Thunder has won three out of the last four and two in a row in Toronto against the Raptors.
Game Notes
- Oklahoma City has won five games in a row, while Toronto has won 11 in a row.
- Oklahoma City is 8-2 in the last 10 games, while Toronto is 10-0.
- Oklahoma City is 17-18 on the road, while Toronto is 29-5 at home.
- Oklahoma City is 17-9 against the Eastern Conference, while Toronto is 18-9 against the Western Conference.
- Oklahoma City is 24-18 after one day of rest, while Toronto is 34-9 after one day of rest.
- With 11 games left in the season, the Thunder is currently fourth in the Western Conference, only 2 games back of third, but also only 3.5 games ahead of the teams in ninth and tenth.
- Russell Westbrook has recorded a triple-double in the last four games.
Be sure to check out our most recent episode of Thunder Things with the Thunder Guys.
Article written by Zack Low. Follow @TheThunderGuys on Twitter & Instagram, and like us on Facebook.