The Oklahoma City Thunder ended the Denver Nuggets 9-game winning streak on Sunday thanks to a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander bucket in the final seconds of the game to put OKC on top 101-99. Luguentz Dort locked up Jamal Murray for a tough last-second shot attempt at tying the game, but it was no good, and the Thunder continues to look more and more like a legitimate playoff team.
OKC looks to stay hot on Wednesday night as they host the Atlanta Hawks, who have lost two in a row after winning 5 straight. The Hawks currently sit in 8th place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 24-24 record, just a half-game ahead of the Indiana Pacers, but a game and a half behind the New York Knicks.
Atlanta is an interesting matchup for the Thunder for a couple of reasons. First off, the Hawks have an extremely talented backcourt with the duo of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, which should be fun for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort to match up with. De’Andre Hunter is a talented young wing player for the Hawks as well. Down low, Atlanta’s John Collins and Clint Capela are a similar stretch big men, which gives the Hawks an advantage considering that OKC hasn’t played a true center down low consistently in quite some time. Regardless, the Thunder is a top-10 rebounding team, and their defensive efficiency has been incredible since the New Year.
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, Atlanta Hawks Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Josh Giddey
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Kenrich Williams
Hawks
- PG: Trae Young
- SG: Dejounte Murray
- SF: De’Andre Hunter
- PF: John Collins
- C: Clint Capela
Injury Report
Thunder
- Chet Holmgren is OUT (right foot surgery).
- Eugene Omoruyi is OUT (G League — two-way).
- Aleksej Pokusevski is OUT (left tibial plateau; non-displaced fracture).
- Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is OUT (sprained right ankle).
- Lindy Waters III is OUT (G League — two-way).
Hawks
- De’Andre Hunter is QUESTIONABLE (asthma symptoms).
- Onyeka Okongwu is QUESTIONABLE (left hamstring tightness).
- Donovan Williams is OUT (G League — two-way).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 16-11 against the Hawks (9-4 at home, 7-7 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Hawks 5 times, lost it 3 times, and tied 6 times.
- The Thunder lost the season series with the Hawks 0-2 last year (0-1 at home, 0-1 on the road).
- The Thunder is 1-0 against the Hawks so far this season (0-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).