Game #39 | Washington Wizards

Zachary LowJanuary 6, 2019 No Comments

Tip-Off: 6 PM CT

Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma

Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal

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

The Oklahoma City Thunder picked one of their biggest wins of the season in a 111-109 victory in Portland over the Trail Blazers on Friday night, and now OKC gets to play in front of the home crowd for a couple of games.

In tonight’s contest, the Thunder hosts the Washington Wizards, who have not fared so well so far this season. After stumbling near the end of last season and barely making the playoffs at the 8-seed, it was suspected that they would challenge for a solid playoff position this year, but that has been far from the case.

After starting 1-7, they looked like they were turning a corner as they won 10 of their next 17 to move to 11-14, but since then they have won just 4 of 14 and are 15-24 on the season. A likely reason for their lack of success is the amount of drama that has seemingly surrounded the locker room, as well as the trades that have already happened and the talk that more could occur.

Regardless of how poorly the Wizards have played so far this season, they’re an NBA basketball team, and the Thunder needs to focus on picking up another win. Paul George continues to play out of his mind, and Russell Westbrook has shown signs of finding his shot, while young role players have stepped up to do some solid things as well.

After tonight, OKC plays 5 of their next 8 games against teams currently in a playoff spot, so getting an easy win tonight would be a good way to head into that stretch.

Thunder

  • PG: Russell Westbrook
  • SG: Terrance Ferguson
  • SF: Paul George
  • PF: Jerami Grant
  • C: Steven Adams

Wizards

  • PG: Tomas Satoransky
  • SG: Bradley Beal
  • SF: Trevor Ariza
  • PF: Jeff Green
  • C: Thomas Bryant

Injuries

Thunder

  • Alex Abrines (personal) is OUT.
  • Andre Roberson (left patellar tendon) is OUT.

Wizards

  • Dwight Howard (L4-L5 lumbar microdiscectomy procedure) is OUT.
  • Markief Morris (transient cervical neuropraxia) is OUT.
  • John Wall (left heel surgery) is OUT.

Head-to-Head

  • Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 14-6 against the Wizards (9-0 at home, 5-6 on the road).
  • The Thunder has won the season series with the Wizards four times, lost it once, and tied five times.
  • The Thunder split the season series last year 1-1 (1-0 at home, 0-1 on the road).
  • The Thunder has won 7 of the last 9 games against the Wizards and has NEVER lost to Washington in OKC.

Game Notes

  • The Thunder has won 3 games in a row, and the Wizards most recently lost to the Heat in Miami on Friday night.
  • The Thunder is 7-3 in the last 10 games, and the Wizards are 4-6 in their last 10 games.
  • Oklahoma City is 13-4 at home while Washington is 4-17 on the road. The Wizards have lost 8 consecutive road games.
  • Oklahoma City is 10-2 against the Eastern Conference while Washington is 6-9 against the Western Conference.
  • The Thunder is 13-8 after one day of rest while the Wizards are 9-16 after one day of rest.
  • The Thunder is 1-3 on Sundays while the Wizards are 2-3.
  • The Thunder is 2-0 in January while the Wizards are 1-1.
  • Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes
  • Washington Wizards Official Game Notes

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