The Oklahoma City Thunder closes out their 4-game road trip on Sunday night in Houston as the take on the Rockets. The Thunder has picked up wins in Sacramento against the Kings, in San Francisco against the Warriors, and in Los Angeles against the Lakers, and they are hoping to do the same in Houston.
This matchup is a meeting between the Western Conference’s top two records, but it’s also a showdown between the league’s top-rated defenses. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is an MVP-caliber playmaker, and few teams have been able to slow him down in his recent history, but the Rockets have plenty of young talent as well in Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun. Fans may show up expecting a low-scoring game, but it could turn into a shootout if the defenses aren’t ready to go.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 6 PM CT
Location: Toyota Center (Houston, Texas)
Television: FanDuelTV – 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, Houston Rockets Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Rockets
- PG: Fred VanVleet
- SG: Jalen Green
- SF: Dillon Brooks
- PF: Jabari Smith
- C: Alperen Sengun
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.
- Chet Holmgren (fractured right iliac wing) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (left ACL surgery recovery) is OUT.
- Jaylin Williams (strained right hamstring) is OUT.
Rockets
- N’Faly Dante (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Jack McVeigh (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Nate Williams (G League — two-way) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 29-30 against the Rockets in the regular season (20-11 at home, 9-19 on the road) and 7-9 against the Rockets in the playoffs (5-2 at home, 2-7 on the road).
- The Thunder has won the season series with the Rockets 7 times, lost it 5 times, and tied 4 times.
- The Thunder went 2-2 against the Rockets last season (1-1 at home, 1-1 on the road).
- The Thunder is 1-0 against the Rockets so far this season (1-0 at home, 0-0 on the road).