Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: FTX Arena (Miami, Florida)
Television: Bally Sports Oklahoma
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live-tweets and discussion during the game
The losing streak continues to grow for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and it’s unlikely to come to an end tonight as the Thunder takes on the Miami Heat in the second road game in three days. Despite all the losing, OKC has fought in a number of games, including on Wednesday night in San Antonio when they trailed by 16 to the Spurs before rallying to take a lead with just a few seconds left in the fourth quarter. Lonnie Walker IV managed to hit a contested three with a little over a second left on the clock to give San Antonio the lead and the eventual win.
Tonight’s matchup with Miami pits the tanking Thunder against the Eastern Conference’s best record. The Heat are 46-24, two games ahead of the second-placed Milwaukee Bucks, and they have one of the best home records in the NBA at 25-9. Miami is led by 6x NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler, and Tyler Herro—the favorite to win this year’s NBA Sixth Man award—is a spark plug off the bench.
A loss for the Thunder tonight would match OKC’s longest losing streak of the season at 8, and the odds of that happening are strong. Miami is a double-digit favorite, which should come as no surprise to Thunder fans, but it should come as no surprise if OKC managed to cover and keep this game closer than expected. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is once again questionable to play due to a sore ankle, which is likely the primary cause for the giant 16-point spread, but if SGA does play, you can pretty much guarantee he’s going to do everything he can to make this a game.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Tre Mann
- SF: Aaron Wiggins
- PF: Darius Bazley
- C: Isaiah Roby
Heat
- PG: Kyle Lowry
- SG: Duncan Robinson
- SF: Caleb Martin
- PF: P.J. Tucker
- C: Bam Adebayo
Injuries
Thunder
- Luguentz Dort is OUT (left shoulder surgery).
- Derrick Favors is OUT (lower back soreness).
- Josh Giddey is OUT (right hip soreness).
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is AVAILABLE (right ankle soreness).
- Ty Jerome is OUT (sports hernia surgery).
- Mike Muscala is OUT (right ankle surgery).
- Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is OUT (third metatarsal fracture in right foot).
- Kenrich Williams is OUT (sprained left knee).
Heat
- Jimmy Butler is OUT (sprained right ankle).
- Caleb Martin is AVAILABLE (hyperextended left knee).
- P.J. Tucker is AVAILABLE (left knee irritation).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City, the Thunder is 14-13 against the Heat (7-8 at home, 7-5 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City, the Thunder has won the season series 3 times, lost it 3 times, and tied 6 times.
- The Thunder went 0-2 against the Heat last season (0-1 at home, 0-1 on the road).
- The Thunder is 0-1 against the Heat so far this season (0-1 at home, 0-0 on the road).