Tip-Off: 6:30 PM CT
Location: Madison Square Garden (New York, New York)
Television: Bally Sports Oklahoma
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live-tweets and discussion during the game
Happy Valentine’s Day, Thunder fans! The Oklahoma City Thunder put up a valiant fight against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday before falling 106-101, and the road trip continues tonight as the Thunder takes on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
After a 5-1 start, the Knicks have fallen right back into the age-old story of mediocrity that has riddled New York for the last couple of decades. At 12th in the Eastern Conference standings, New York isn’t out of the playoff picture just yet, but their 25-32 record is not looking pretty. The Knicks have been over .500 just once in the last couple of months, and despite being only 1.5 games back of 10th place Atlanta, the Knicks have won just 2 of their last 10 games.
Meanwhile, OKC continues to compete night in and night out while picking up a win every once in a while. This appears to be right on track with the plan to develop the team while keeping the bigger picture in mind, which means losing games in hopes of getting a better pick.
Regardless of status in the standings, tonight’s game should be a solid matchup, so don’t be surprised if the Thunder heads back to OKC with a Valentine’s Day victory.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Josh Giddey
- SG: Tre Mann
- SF: Kenrich Williams
- PF: Darius Bazley
- C: Derrick Favors
Knicks
- PG: Kemba Walker
- SG: Quentin Grimes
- SF: Evan Fournier
- PF: Julius Randle
- C: Mitchell Robinson
Injuries
Thunder
- Luguentz Dort is OUT (strained left shoulder).
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is OUT (sprained right ankle).
- Mike Muscala is OUT (right ankle soreness).
- Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is OUT (third metatarsal fracture in right foot).
Knicks
- RJ Barrett is OUT (sprained left ankle).
- Nerlens Noel is QUESTIONABLE (left foot soreness).
- Cam Reddish is QUESTIONABLE (right ankle soreness).
- Mitchell Robinson is QUESTIONABLE (left ankle soreness).
- Derrick Rose is OUT (right ankle surgery).
- Luka Samanic is OUT (G League — two-way).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 18-7 against the Knicks (10-3 at home, 8-4 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Knicks 6 times, lost it 0 times, and tied it 7 times.
- The Thunder tied the season series with the Knicks 1-1 last year (0-1 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- The Thunder is 0-1 against the Knicks so far this season (1-0 at home, 0-0 on the road).