The Oklahoma City Thunder led by as many as 23 early in the second half in Orlando on Thursday night, but the Magic didn’t go away quietly as they cut their deficit to 3 by the end of the third period and a couple more times early in the fourth quarter. OKC never relinquished the lead, though, as they held on to win 105-99. Now OKC takes on the Miami Heat in the second game of a back-to-back on the road.
Miami is an interesting case study in the ebbs and flows of the NBA regular season. They’ve had two NBA Finals appearances in the last 6 seasons, losing both, but they’ve been particularly underwhelming for large chunks of the last few years. Still, they have been able to turn up the temperature at the right times to win big games, and tonight’s matchup feels like it could be one of those important ones for both teams.
OKC looked up vulnerable in their big loss against the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup Final on Tuesday and again last night when they nearly gave away the game against an injured Orlando Squad. Miami, on the other hand, just recently broke .500 on the season before losing to the Pistons in Detroit on Monday, and now they’re at 13-11. Records aside, these teams appear to be pretty evenly matched on paper, so expect a grueling matchup that may rival the old days of the Kevin Durant version of OKC taking on the Lebron James era Miami Heat.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Kaseya Center (Miami, Florida)
Television: FanDuel TV
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, Miami Heat Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Isaiah Joe
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Chet Holmgren
Heat
- PG: Tyler Herro
- SG: Duncan Robinson
- SF: Jimmy Butler
- PF: Haywood Highsmith
- C: Bam Adebayo
Injury Report
Thunder
- Alex Ducas (sprained lower back) is OUT.
- Adam Flagler (fractured right fourth metacarpal) is OUT.
- Chet Holmgren (fractured right iliac wing) is OUT.
- Dillon Jones (G League — on assignment) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (sprained left knee) is OUT.
- Jaylin Williams (strained right hamstring) is OUT.
Heat
- Josh Christopher (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Keshad Johnson (G League — two-way) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Nikola Jovic (sprained left ankle) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Pelle Larsson (sprained right ankle) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Josh Richardson (right heel inflammation) is DOUBTFUL.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City, the Thunder is 16-16 against the Heat (8-9 at home, 8-7 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City, the Thunder have won the season series 5 times, lost it 5 times, and tied 6 times.
- The Thunder went 2-0 against the Heat last season (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).