The Oklahoma City Thunder is fresh off perhaps their best win in years as they defeated the Golden State Warriors on the road 130-123 in overtime. Despite trailing by 18 points midway through the third quarter, OKC managed to make it a close game in the fourth quarter, giving Chet Holmgren the opportunity to knock in a corner three at the buzzer of regulation to tie it up at 117-117.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took over in the extra period scoring 10 straight points for OKC to put the game away. He finished with 40 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks; and rookie Chet Holmgren had a career night as he added 36 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
Just a day later, the Thunder is in Portland on Sunday night where they will take on the Trail Blazers. The Blazers are going through it right now as they sit near the bottom of the Western Conference standings with a 3-9 record, but when you see their long injury report, you can understand why. OKC has had Portland’s number for the last two seasons with 8 straight wins against the Blazers, but 7 of those wins have been decided by single digits.
The Thunder is clearly the better team in this matchup, but last night’s win could bring about a level of complacency if OKC isn’t careful. Portland is on a 6-game losing streak, and I’m sure they would like to see that come to an end in front of the home crowd. If Jerami Grant and Deandre Ayton manage to control the boards, it could be a rough night for OKC. However, if the Thunder can be competitive in the rebounding battle, then they could blow this one wide open.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 8 PM CT
Location: Moda Center (Portland, Oregon)
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, Golden State Warriors Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Josh Giddey
- SF: Isaiah Joe
- PF: Luguentz Dort
- C: Chet Holmgren
Blazers
- PG: Skylar Mays
- SG: Shaedon Sharpe
- SF: Toumani Camara
- PF: Jerami Grant
- C: Deandre Ayton
Injury Report
Thunder
- Ousmane Dieng is OUT (G League – on assignment).
- Keyontae Johnson is OUT (G League — two-way).
- Jalen Williams is OUT (strained hip).
Blazers
- Malcolm Brogdon is OUT (strained left hamstring).
- Moses Brown is QUESTIONABLE (G League — on assignment).
- Scott Henderson is OUT (sprained right ankle).
- Justin Minaya is QUESTIONABLE (G League — two-way).
- Kris Murray is QUESTIONABLE (G League — on assignment).
- Rayan Rupert is QUESTIONABLE (G League — on assignment).
- Anfernee Simons is OUT (ligament tear in right thumb).
- Ish Wainright is OUT (MCL sprain in left knee).
- Robert Williams III is OUT (ligament tear in right knee).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 33-26 (18-11 at home, 15-15 on the road) against the Trail Blazers in the regular season and 1-4 (1-1 at home, 0-3 on the road) in the playoffs.
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Trail Blazers 6 times, lost it 6 times, and tied 3 times.
- The Thunder went 4-0 (2-0 at home, 2-0 on the road) against the Blazers last season.
- The Thunder has won 8 straight against the Blazers and 5 of the last 6 in Portland.