The Oklahoma City Thunder trailed by as many as 15 against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday afternoon before roaring back early in the fourth quarter to take their first lead since scoring the first points of the game. In the end, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points, four other Thunder players finished in double digits, and OKC pulled out a 124-120 victory.
The Thunder kicks off a 4-game West Coast road trip on Tuesday night as they take on the Los Angeles Clippers for the first of two meetings that will take place over the course of the next three days. The Clippers are currently 5th in the Western Conference standings with a 38-34 record, and OKC isn’t too far behind at 9th with a 35-36 record. With just 11 games remaining, the Thunder still has plenty of time to move up, but they also don’t have much room for losing.
After losing 5 straight since trading for Russell Westbrook, the Clippers have started to click, winning 5 of their last 6 games. Now that they are healthy, LA is looking more and like a Western Conference contender. Meanwhile, OKC has the ability to hang with any team in the league. This last stretch of the season is going to be a wild ride, and tonight’s game should be especially exciting.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 9:30 PM CT
Location: Crypto.com Arena (Los Angeles, California)
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, Los Angeles Clippers Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Josh Giddey
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Jaylin Williams
Clippers
- PG: Russell Westbrook
- SG: Paul George
- SF: Kawhi Leonard
- PF: Marcus Morris
- C: Ivica Zubac
Injury Report
Thunder
- Jared Butler is OUT (G League — two-way).
- Chet Holmgren is OUT (right foot surgery).
- Aleksej Pokusevski is OUT (G League — on assignment).
- Kenrich Williams is OUT (scapholunate ligament surgery in left wrist).
Clippers
- Brandon Boston Jr. is OUT (tailbone contusion).
- Moussa Diabate is OUT (G League — two-way).
- Xavier Moon is OUT (G League — two-way).
- Norman Powell is OUT (left shoulder subluxation).
- Jason Preston is OUT (G League — on assignment).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 27-25 against the Clippers (18-8 at home, 9-17 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Clippers 4 times, tied 4 times, and lost 6 times.
- The Thunder went 1-2 against the Clippers last season (1-0 at home, 0-2 on the road).
- The Thunder is 2-0 agains the Clippers so far this season (2-0 at home, 0-0 on the road).