The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves are set to meet for a New Year’s Eve bash in OKC, and both teams enter with winning streaks. OKC has won 11 consecutive games, and a win tonight would tie the longest winning streak in Thunder history, which occurred back in the 2012-13 season. Meanwhile, Minnesota has won 3 straight games, and a win tonight would tie their longest streak in what has been a very mediocre season.
Minnesota has been a team on the rise in the Western Conference for several years now, but they have struggled this season to stay above .500. Regardless of records, both of these teams bring defensive tenacity to the table, and tonight’s meeting will likely mirror recent matchups where neither team has done much scoring. Just once in the last 4 meetings has the point total surpassed 210 total points, and tonight’s game will likely hover around that number as well.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: FanDuel TV, NBA TV, KSBI-52
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, Minnesota Timberwolves Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Grizzlies
- PG: Mike Conley
- SG: Anthony Edwards
- SF: Jaden McDaniels
- PF: Julius Randle
- C: Rudy Gobert
Injury Report
Thunder
- Alex Caruso (strained left hip) is OUT.
- Alex Ducas (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Adam Flagler (G League —two-way) is OUT.
- Chet Holmgren (fractured right iliac wing) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (sprained left knee) is OUT.
Timberwolves
- Jaylen Clark (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Rob Dillingham (sprained right ankle) is OUT.
- Jesse Edwards (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Luka Garza (sprained left ankle) is OUT.
- Daishen Nix (sprained right ankle) is QUESTIONABLE.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 38-24 against the Timberwolves (19-11 at home, 19-13 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the 4-game regular season series against the Timberwolves 9 times, lost it 3 times, and tied it 3 times.
- The Thunder went 2-2 against the Timberwolves last season (1-1 at home, 1-1 on the road).