The Oklahoma City Thunder survived a 105-101 matchup with the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday—despite missing Jalen Williams for the second half—and now OKC continues their West Coast trip with a stop in Los Angeles to take on Lebron James and the Lakers.
Defense down the stretch sealed the deal 🔒 pic.twitter.com/jIwXAxTEpI
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 28, 2024
Jalen Williams is expected to be back in action tonight, and OKC sits a full game ahead of the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference standings, but they face a tough opponent in the Lakers. LA has had a roller coaster of a season so far. They opened with 3 wins before losing 4 of their following 5. Sitting at 4-4, they won 6 straight to move to 10-4 before losing 3 straight to become 10-7. After beating the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, the Lakers are now 11-7 and sitting in 5th in the West.
Tonight’s meeting is the third game of the NBA Cup pool play for the Thunder, but it is the final game for the Lakers, so every point matters—literally. OKC has not fared well against the Lakers in recent years, losing 13 of the last 18 meetings, but 5 of those Thunder wins have come in Los Angeles. The addition of Isaiah Hartenstein greatly helps OKC in matchups like this one with Anthony Davis on the other side, so expect plenty of late night fireworks in LA on Black Friday.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 9 PM CT
Location: Crypto.com Arena (Los Angeles, California)
Television: ESPN
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: Isaiah Joe
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Lakers
- PG: Dalton Knecht
- SG: Austin Reaves
- SF: Lebron James
- PF: Rui Hachimura
- C: Anthony Davis
Injury Report
Thunder
- Alex Caruso (strained right hip) is OUT.
- Ousmane Dieng (small fracture in right ring finger) is OUT.
- Alex Ducas (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Adam Flagler (right hand contusion) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Chet Holmgren (fractured right iliac wing) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (left ACL surgery recovery) is OUT.
- Jaylin Williams (strained right hamstring) is OUT.
Lakers
- Anthony Davis (left plantar fasciitis) is PROBABLE.
- Jaxson Hayes (right ankle contusion) is DOUBTFUL.
- Bronny James (left heel contusion) is OUT.
- Dalton Knecht (right quad contusion) is PROBABLE.
- Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot surgery recovery) is OUT.
- Christian Wood (left knee surgery recovery) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 28-28 against the Lakers (15-12 at home, 13-16 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 1-3 against the Lakers so far this season (1-1 at home, 0-2 on the road).