OKC Thunder | Game #67 Preview: New Orleans Pelicans

The Oklahoma City Thunder has a Saturday night showdown in New Orleans agains the Pelicans, and the Thunder could use a win after the thrashing they received in Phoenix on Wednesday night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be playing after a night off on Wednesday, and Brandon Ingram is questionable for the Pelicans with a sprained ankle. This is the first game of a back-to-back for OKC, and a win would go a long way concerning playoff odds.

Currently, the Thunder is 12th in the Western Conference with a 31-35 record. The Pelicans are sitting at 10th at 32-34 on the season. This particular matchup would be a huge swing in the standings this late in the season, and OKC needs every win they can get at this point considering that just 3.5 game separate 6th-13th place.

Game Details

Tip-Off: 7:30 PM CT

Location: Smoothie King Center (New Orleans, Pelicans)

Television: Bally Sports Oklahoma

Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal

Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game

Game NotesOklahoma City Thunder Official Game NotesNew Orleans Pelicans Official Game Notes

Projected Starters

Thunder

  • PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
  • SG: Josh Giddey
  • SF: Luguentz Dort
  • PF: Jaylen Williams
  • C: Jaylin Williams

Pelicans

  • PG: Trey Murphy III
  • SG: Brandon Ingram
  • SF: CJ McCollum
  • PF: Herbert Jones
  • C: Jonas Valanciunas

Injury Report

Thunder

  • Chet Holmgren is OUT (right foot surgery).
  • Aleksej Pokusevski is OUT (left tibial plateau; non-displaced fracture).
  • Olivier Sarr is OUT (G League — two-way).
  • Kenrich Williams is OUT (scapholunate ligament surgery in left wrist).

Pelicans

  • Jose Alvarado is OUT (right tibial stress reaction).
  • Brandon Ingram is QUESTIONABLE (sprained right ankle).
  • E.J. Liddell is OUT (right knee ACL injury recovery).
  • Larry Nance Jr. is OUT (sprained left ankle).
  • Dereon Seabron is OUT (G League — two-way).
  • Zion Williamson is OUT (strained right hamstring).

Head-to-Head

  • Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 31-20 against the Pelicans (17-9 at home, 14-11 on the road).
  • The Thunder has won the season series with the Pelicans 9 times, tied it once, and lost it 4 times.
  • The Thunder went 2-1 against the Pelicans last season (1-1 at home, 1-0 on the road).
  • The Thunder is 0-3 against the Pelicans so far this season (0-2 at home, 0-1 on the road).

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