Oklahoma City Thunder | Game #36 Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers

The Oklahoma City Thunder are to be a part of NBA history on Wednesday when they take on the Cavaliers in Cleveland. OKC—the top-seeded team in the West— and Cleveland—the top-seeded team in the East— will go head-to-head as the first teams in NBA history to have a 15-game winning streak and a 10-game winning streak.

The Thunder and the Cavaliers have been running through teams at a pretty impressive rate as they both hold win-differentials in the double digits. OKC has had a significantly tougher schedule playing in the West, but Cleveland has manhandled their lesser competition consistently. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has made a pretty good argument for MVP thus far, and he has a great surrounding cast as Jalen Williams is making a case for his first All-Star Appearance, but the Cavs are pretty solid all-around as Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley are potential All-Stars as well.

Game Details

Tip-Off: 6 PM CT

Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (Cleveland, Ohio)

Television: ESPN

Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal

Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game

Game NotesOklahoma City Thunder Official Game NotesCleveland Cavaliers Official Game Notes

Projected Starters

Thunder

  • PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
  • SG: Cason Wallace
  • SF: Luguentz Dort
  • PF: Jalen Williams
  • C: Isaiah Hartenstein

Cavaliers

  • PG: Darius Garland
  • SG: Donovan Mitchell
  • SF: Dean Wade
  • PF: Evan Mobley
  • C: Jarrett Allen

Injury Report

Thunder

  • Alex Caruso (strained left hip) is OUT.
  • Ousmane Dieng (G League — on assignment) is OUT.
  • Adam Flagler (G League —two-way) is OUT.
  • Dill Jones (G League — two-way) is OUT.
  • Chet Holmgren (fractured right iliac wing) is OUT.
  • Ajay Mitchell (sprained right great toe) is OUT.
  • Nikola Topic (sprained left knee) is OUT.

Cavaliers

  • Emoni Bates (G League — two-way) is OUT.
  • Sam Merrill (sprained right ankle) is QUESTIONABLE.
  • Isaac Okoro (AC joint sprain in right shoulder) is QUESTIONABLE.
  • JT Thor (G League — two-way) is OUT.
  • Luke Travers (G League — two-way) is OUT.

Head-to-Head

  • Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 15-15 against the Cavs (8-8 at home, 7-7 on the road).
  • Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Cavs 4 times, lost 5 times, and tied 7 times.
  • Last season, the Thunder won the season series with the Cavs 2-0 (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).

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