The Oklahoma City Thunder trailed by 17 points in the first quarter of Wednesday’s contest with the Denver Nuggets, but the Thunder cut it to a 6-point deficit by halftime. A 19-point swing in the third quarter gave the OKC an 13-point lead headed into the final period. Denver was able to come back, however, tying it up in the final seconds to force overtime. The Thunder young guns were unable to finish the game strong, and the result was a 131-126 loss.
Friday night is the Thunder’s third opportunity in five days to get a win in front of the home crowd, and it should make for a fun challenge as they host the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have not capitalized on their success from last season, but they are hot off two wins against the East’s top teams in the Celtics and the Bucks. OKC will have to bring their best performance to try to put an end to Chicago’s miniature win streak.
Game Details
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
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Denver Nuggets Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Josh Giddey
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Aleksej Pokusevski
- C: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
Bulls
- PG: Ayo Dosunmu
- SG: Zach Lavine
- SF: DeMar DeRozan
- PF: Patrick Williams
- C: Nikola Vucevic
Injury Report
Thunder
- Ousmane Dieng is OUT (G League — on assignment).
- Chet Holmgren is OUT (right foot surgery).
- Mike Muscala is OUT (fractured left pinky)
- Lindy Waters is OUT (G League — two-way).
- Jaylin Williams is OUT (G League — on assignment).
Bulls
- Kosta Antetokounmpo is OUT (G League — two-way).
- Lonzo Ball is OUT (left knee surgery).
- Goran Dragic is DOUBTFUL (left cervical stinger).
- Javonte Green is PROBABLE (lower back contusion).
- Malcolm Hill is OUT (G League — two-way).
- Marco Simonovic is OUT (G League — on assignment).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 16-11 against the Bulls (9-5 at home, 7-6 away).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Bulls 5 times, lost it twice, and tied 7 times.
- The Thunder went 0-2 against the Bulls so far this season (0-1 at home, 0-1 on the road).