Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: Bally 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 found redemption on Monday when they defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 102-99 just a couple of weeks after a historic 73-point loss to them. With that win, the Thunder has consecutive victories for just the third time this season. Tonight, the Thunder hosts the Denver Nuggets, who have had their own issues with stringing wins together.
At 15-14, Denver has won consecutive games just 4 times. Their longest winning streak was a 5-game stretch in November, but it was immediately followed up with a 6-game losing streak, their longest of the season. The Nuggets have struggled since losing Jamal Murray to an ACL injury last season, and Michael Porter Jr. undergoing back surgery a couple of weeks ago was a major blow. Still, Denver has the reigning MVP in Nikola Jokic, so the Nuggets could likely handle the Thunder just fine under normal circumstances. However, we’re not dealing with normal circumstances anymore, are we?
In the wake of health and safety protocols striking essentially every team in the league, the Thunder has somehow managed to stay healthy. As a result, chemistry has continued to grow amongst the young squad, and even when faced with the daunting task of taking on playoff-caliber teams—like the Clippers and the Grizzlies—OKC has managed to compete and even pull out a few wins here and there. With that being said, you never really know what could happen when the Thunder is playing in front of the home crowd. The only real consistency is that they play hard and play together, and as a result, it’s bound to be an entertaining matchup tonight.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Josh Giddey
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
- C: Derrick Favors
Nuggets
- PG: Monte Morris
- SG: Will Barton
- SF: Aaron Gordon
- PF: Jeff Green
- C: Nikola Jokic
Injuries
Thunder
- Tre Mann is OUT (sprained left great toe).
- Mike Muscals is OUT (rest).
Nuggets
- Bol Bol is OUT (health and safety protocols).
- P.J. Dozier is OUT (left ACL surgery).
- Aaron Gordon is QUESTIONABLE (left hamstring soreness).
- JaMychal Green is QUESTIONABLE (sprained right ankle; left knee soreness).
- Markus Howard is OUT (sprained left knee).
- Jamal Murray is OUT (left knee injury recovery).
- Michael Porter Jr. is OUT (lumbar spine surgery; health and safety protocols).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 22-27 against the Nuggets (15-11 at home, 7-16 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series with the Nuggets 6 times and lost it 7 times.
- The Thunder went 0-3 (0-1 at home, 0-2 on the road) against the Nuggets last season.
- The Thunder has lost 12 of the last 14 matchups against the Nuggets, including 5 of the last 6 at the Paycom Center.