Tip-Off: 4:00 PM
Location: Toyota Center (Houston, Texas)
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 (24-19) got back on the winning track with a 119-106 win over the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers (18-26).
Today, the Thunder takes on the Houston Rockets (26-15) in a special Martin Luther King Jr. Day afternoon tip-off. The last time these two teams met was just 11 days ago in OKC for Russell Westbrook’s return. The Thunder handled the Rockets easily despite Westbrook having a solid all-around game.
The Rockets enter today’s matchup as losers of 3 in a row, so they will surely be focused and ready to go. The Thunder is without Terrance Ferguson, so the primary concern for OKC will be guarding James Harden and keeping him from running wild. If the Thunder can hold Harden to a reasonable game, they’ll have a chance to leave Houston with a win.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Chris Paul
- SG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SF: Hamidou Diallo
- PF: Danilo Gallinari
- C: Steven Adams
Rockets
- PG: Russell Westbrook
- SG: James Harden
- SF: Ben McLemore
- PF: P.J. Tucker
- C: Clint Capela
Injuries
Thunder
- Terrance Ferguson (personal reasons) is OUT.
- Kevin Hervey (G League; two-way) is OUT.
- Abdel Nader (left ankle sprain) is OUT.
- Justin Patton (G League Assignment) is OUT.
- Andre Roberson (return to play management) is OUT.
Rockets
- Gerald Green (left cuneiform fracture) is OUT.
- Nene Hilario (left adductor strain) is OUT.
- William Howard (G League Two-Way) is OUT.
- Austin Rivers (right thumb sprain) is QUESTIONABLE.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 20-22 against the Rockets (14-8 at home, 6-14 on the road).
- The Thunder has won the season series with the Rockets 5 times, lost it 4 times, and tied 2 times.
- The Thunder won the regular season with the Rockets last year 3-1 (2-1 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- The Thunder is 1-1 against the Rockets so far this season (1-0 at home, 0-1 on the road).
Game Notes
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