The Oklahoma City Thunder survived a game of runs on the road against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night, pulling out a 118-110 win to take over sole possessions of the top spot in the Western Conference. Now the Thunder play in a road SEGABABA against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers have had a disappointing season thus far, but it hasn’t been all bad. They are currently slated for a play-in spot as the 10th place team in the Western Conference, but at 33-29, they are just 3.5 games back of the 5th-place New Orleans Pelicans. A lot of shake up can take place in these final 20 games of the season, so it’s safe to say that pretty much every game matters at this point.
Despite being in first place in the West, the Thunder cannot afford to let their guard down against anyone, particularly an experienced team like the Lakers. Lebron James is not one to go quietly into the night, and OKC needs to do whatever they can to maintain a hold on at least a top 4 spot in the West so that they can have homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Right now, the Thunder is just a half game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets and 2.5 games ahead of the LA Clippers. Plenty of movement can happen in a single night, so picking up a road win against the Lakers would be a great way to punctuate being at the top of the West.
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 Lakers Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Josh Giddey
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Chet Holmgren
Lakers
- PG: D’Angelo Russell
- SG: Austin Reaves
- SF: Lebron James
- PF: Rui Hachimura
- C: Anthony Davis
Injury Report
Thunder
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is QUESTIONABLE (sprained right knee).
Lakers
- Colin Castleton is OUT (fractured right wrist).
- Anthony Davis is PROBABLE (bilateral achilles tendinopathy).
- Lebron James is QUESTIONABLE (peroneal tendinopathy in left ankle).
- Cam Reddish is PROBABLE (sprained right ankle).
- Jarred Vanderbilt is OUT (sprained right mid-foot).
- Gabe Vincent is OUT (left knee surgery).
- Christian Wood is OUT (left knee effusion).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 28-27 against the Lakers (15-12 at home, 13-15 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Lakers 7 times, lost 6 times, and tied it twice.
- The Thunder went 1-2 (0-1 at home, 1-1 on the road) against the Lakers last season.
- The Thunder is 1-2 against the Lakers so far this season (1-1 at home, 0-1 on the road).