It’s been less than 48 hours, but once again, the Oklahoma City Thunder is prepared to take on the Clippers in Los Angeles. On Tuesday night, the Thunder got off to a horribly slow start, trailing 18-4 just a few minutes into the first quarter, but OKC managed to turn thing around quickly to take a small lead into the second period.
The two teams battled back and forth, and on the final possession of the game with the Thunder on top 101-100, the Clippers had a chance to for a game-winning shot. Paul George exited the game earlier in the second half due to a hyperextended knee, and so the ball was in Kawhi Leonard’s hands. Hitting a game winning shot is something that Leonard is no stranger to, but unfortunately for him, Luguentz Dort was able to contain him in the final seconds to the point that Leonard did not even get a shot off before the final buzzer had sounded, giving OKC the victory.
Fast forward to tonight, and the Thunder now has the chance to earn a regular season sweep against the Clippers. OKC currently sits at 8th in the Western Conference standings, just 1.5 games behind the Clippers, who are in 5th. Tonight’s meeting will most certainly have a major impact on playoff seeding as we enter the final 10 games of the season, and OKC needs to try to snag another win before they take on the Lakers tomorrow night in the second game of a back-to-back in Los Angeles.
A win tonight could move OKC up to 7th and increase their chances of a top-6 seed entering playoffs, but a loss could drop them down several spots. Picking up a win tonight is essential to the Thunder’s playoff hopes, and if they can play a high-level of defense like they did on Tuesday, they should be able to complete the sweep against the Clippers.
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 AVAILABLE.
- 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).
- Paul George is OUT (sprained right knee).
- 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 28-25 against the Clippers (18-8 at home, 10-17 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 3-0 agains the Clippers so far this season (2-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).