Tip-Off: 9 PM CT
Location: Staples Center (Los Angeles, California)
Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live-tweets and discussion during the game
The Oklahoma City Thunder were so very close to knocking off the reigning NBA Champs on Monday night, but the Los Angeles Lakers were able to pull away late for a 119-112 victory at Staples Center. Round 2 is tonight, and unfortunately for OKC, the Thunder will be without potential All-Star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
An extended injury list has allowed the Thunder just 8 available players for a few games, and that appears to be the same tonight as SGA will sit with knee soreness, but Isaiah Roby is set to return.
Neither team shot particularly well from three-point land on Monday, so if either squad can hit from downtown tonight, they will have an easy edge up. Considering the fact that the Thunder ranks 29th in the league in 3-point percentage, and the Lakers are 10th…well…you can draw your own very obvious conclusion.
Even with the odds stacked against them, Oklahoma City has managed to compete against some very good teams so far this season, so who knows? Maybe they can pull out a win in Los Angeles tonight.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Hamidou Diallo
- SG: Luguentz Dort
- SF: Kenrich Williams
- PF: Darius Bazley
- C: Al Horford
Lakers
- PG: Dennis Schröder
- SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
- SF: Lebron James
- PF: Markieff Morris
- C: Marc Gasol
Injuries
Thunder
- Trevor Ariza is OUT (not with team).
- Moses Brown is OUT (G League; two-way).
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is OUT (left knee sprain).
- Josh Hall is OUT (G League; two-way).
- George Hill is OUT (right thumb surgery).
- Ty Jerome is OUT (G League; two-way).
- Theo Maledon is OUT (health and safety protocols).
- Mike Muscala is OUT (concussion protocol).
- Aleksej Pokusevski (G League; two-way).
Lakers
- Kostas Antetokounmpo is OUT (right knee; patellar tendinitis).
- Alex Caruso is QUESTIONABLE (right hand soreness).
- Anthony Davis is QUESTIONABLE (right achilles tendonosis).
- Jared Dudley is OUT (right calf soreness).
- Lebron James is PROBABLE (sprained left ankle).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 24-20 against the Lakers (13-9 at home, 11-11 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Lakers 7 times, lost 4 times, and tied once.
- The Thunder went 1-3 (0-2 at home, 1-1 on the road) against the Lakers last season.
- The Thunder is 0-2 (0-1 at home, 0-1 on the road) against the Lakers so far this season.