Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up 29 points and handed out 8 assists as the Oklahoma City Thunder picked up their franchise-record 13th straight victory last night in a 116-98 victory over the LA Clippers. The Thunder continues their play tonight as they host the New York Knicks in the second game of a back-to-back.
OKC has a particularly tough schedule in January, playing New York twice (home and away), the Boston Celtics once (at home), and the Cleveland Cavaliers twice (home and away) over the next 7 games. Over the following 6 games, they’ll see the Dallas Mavericks twice (home and away) and the Golden State Warriors once (away). By the end of January, they will have played 14 games—9 of them against teams in playoff spots.
The New York Knicks enter with a 9-game winning streak of their own, but the schedule has been a bit weak with 5 of those wins coming against bottom-dwelling teams with virtually no shot of making the playoffs. Still, the Knicks have a lot of firepower as they are talented at every spot on the floor. They’re not as deep as OKC is, but they play hard on both ends, similar to the Thunder.
A win tonight won’t be easy for OKC—particularly after coming off a game just last night—but it would be further proof that they are clearly one of the top teams in the league right now.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: FanDuel TV – Oklahoma, NBA 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, New York Knicks Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Knicks
- PG: Jalen Brunson
- SG: Mikal Bridges
- SF: Josh Hart
- PF: OG Anunoby
- C: Karl-Anthony Towns
Injury Report
Thunder
- Alex Caruso (strained left hip) is QUESTIONABLE.
- 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 (left ACL surgery recovery) is OUT.
Knicks
- Jalen Brunson (right calf tightness) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Pacome Dadiet (G League — on assignment) is OUT.
- Ariel Hukporti (G League — on assignment) is OUT.
- Miles McBride (left hamstring tightness) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Kevin McCullar Jr. (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Mitchell Robinson (left ankle surgery) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 22-7 against the Knicks (11-3 at home, 11-4 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder have won the season series against the Knicks 7 times, lost it 0 times, and tied it 9 times.
- The Thunder won the season series with the Knicks 2-0 last year (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).