The Oklahoma City Thunder manhandled an injury San Antonio Spurs roster on Wednesday for a 127-89 victory. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists; Josh Giddey added 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists; and Gordon Hayward tallied 18 points, his most since joining OKC a couple months ago.
With just two games left in the regular season, OKC has confirmed home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Currently at third in the West, there is still a possibility that they could move up to second, which would give them home court in the second round, should they make it that far, and it all starts with a matchup tonight with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks are cemented in the 2-spot in the East, and because they are dealing with some nagging injuries, they are sitting a number of guys, namely Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. More guys are likely to miss as well, and as a result, OKC is a heavy favorite. The Thunder need to treat this game like business, much like they did against the Spurs on Wednesday. If they can do that early, that would allow for starters to get some rest and role players to get some extra minutes ahead of round 1 of the playoffs.
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: KSBI Ch. 52 OKC, Ch 6.3 Tulsa (COX Ch. 7 OKC, Ch. 53 Tulsa)
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, Milwaukee Bucks Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Josh Giddey
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Chet Holmgren
Bucks
- PG: Patrick Beverley
- SG: Malik Beasley
- SF: Khris Middleton
- PF: Bobby Portis
- C: Brook Lopez
Injury Report
Thunder
- Ousmane Dieng is OUT (G League — on assignment).
- Adam Flagler is OUT (G League — two-way).
- Keyontae Johnson is OUT (G League — two-way).
- Olivier Sarr is OUT (G League — two-way).
- Lindy Waters III is QUESTIONABLE (G League — on assignment).
Bucks
- Giannis Antetokounmpo is OUT (strained left soleus).
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo is QUESTIONABLE (left hamstring soreness).
- MarJon Beauchamp is PROBABLE (sprained left ankle).
- Jaylin Galloway is OUT (sprained right ankle).
- AJ Green is OUT (sprained left ankle).
- Damian Lillard is OUT (left adductor soreness).
- Brook Lopez is AVAILABLE (rest).
- Khris Middleton is AVAILABLE (left ankle injury management).
- Bobby Portis is AVAILABLE (rest).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder are 14-16 against the Bucks in the regular season (7-7 at home, 7-9 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series with the Bucks 4 times, lost it 4 times, and tied it 7 times.
- The Thunder went 0-2 against the Bucks last year (0-1 at home, 0-1 on the road).
- The Thunder are 0-1 against the Bucks so far this season (0-0 at home, 0-1 on the road).