Tip-Off: 6 PM CT
Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena (Oklahoma City, OK)
Television: FSOK
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @TheThunderGuys for live-tweets during the game
The Oklahoma City Thunder is coming off a solid home win over the Miami Heat, but tonight will likely be a more difficult matchup. The Portland Trail Blazers are in town, and the game has playoff implications.
Damian Lillard is expected to play tonight for Portland, but his girlfriend is expecting their child at any time now, so he could be called away at a moment’s notice. Lillard is an MVP candidate based on his play as of late, so if he ends up not playing, the Blazers will surely miss him, but Portland is a talented team, and they defeated the Thunder without him last time they were in Oklahoma City.
The Trail Blazers have defeated the Thunder in all three matchups so far this season, and Portland currently has two fewer losses overall than Oklahoma City. If the Thunder wants to grab the three-seed in the West, they will need to finish a game ahead of the Blazers due to the tie breaker.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Russell Westbrook
- SG: Corey Brewer
- SF: Paul George
- PF: Carmelo Anthony
- C: Steven Adams
Blazers
- PG: Damian Lillard
- SG: C.J. McCollum
- SF: Maurice Harkless
- PF: Al-Farouq Aminu
- C: Jusuf Nurkic
Injuries
Thunder
- Andre Roberson ( left patellar surgery) is OUT.
Blazers
- Jusuf Nurkic (sore lower back) is PROBABLE.
- Evan Turner (back) is PROBABLE.
- Ed Davis (foot) is PROBABLE.
- Shabazz Napier (toe injury) is QUESTIONABLE.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 18-21 against the Trail Blazers (11-8 at home, 7-13 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Trail Blazers three times, lost it four times, and tied twice.
- Oklahoma City is 0-3 against Portland so far this season.
- The Thunder has lost seven of the last eight matchups overall with the Blazers, including two in a row in Oklahoma City.
- The Thunder lost the season series with the Trail Blazers 1-3 a year ago.
- Russell Westbrook scored a career-high 58 points at home against the Blazers last season on March 7, 2017.
Game Notes
- Oklahoma City defeated the Miami Heat on Friday, and Portland has lost two consecutive games after winning 13 in a row.
- Oklahoma City is 7-3 in the last 10 games, and Portland is 8-2.
- Oklahoma City is 26-11 at home, and Portland is 19-15 on the road.
- Oklahoma City is 25-20 against the Western Conference, while Portland is 26-16.
- Oklahoma City is 25-19 after one day of rest, while Portland is 20-19.
Article written by Zack Low. Follow @TheThunderGuys on Twitter & Instagram, and like us on Facebook.