The Oklahoma City Thunder wraps up a quick West Coast trip on Wednesday night as they take on the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco. The Warriors are fresh off a 114-103 win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night, but that marks only the fifth victory for the Warriors in their last 12 outings. OKC on the other hand has had two days of rest, and they are all the better for it as Luguentz Dort will be back in action after being sidelined against Portland on Sunday due to a sore knee.
The Thunder sits comfortably atop the Western Conference standings—5.5 games ahead of the Houston Rockets—but Golden State is on the outside looking in at the moment as they are a full game behind the Sacramento Kings for the final Play-In spots in the West.
Despite the Thunder being heavily favored tonight, I would expect them to come out with a sense of urgency after a sluggish start against Portland on Sunday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished that game with 35 points, and Jalen Williams added 24 points and 8 assists, but didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, knocking down just 10-of-30 shots from downtown. Defensively, OKC struggled to slow down the Blazers early, but they survived a late flurry to come out on top 118-108. Because of the challenge that Portland posed for the Thunder, don’t be surprised if OKC comes out against the Warriors looking to build a sizable lead early.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Warriors
- PG: Steph Curry
- SG: Buddy Hield
- SF: Moses Moody
- PF: Andrew Wiggins
- C: Trayce Jackson-Davis
Injury Report
Thunder
- Chet Holmgren (fractured right iliac wing) is OUT.
- Dillon Jones (G League — on assignment) is OUT.
- Ajay Mitchell (right great toe surgery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) is OUT.
Warriors
- Stephen Curry (bilateral knee injury management) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Draymond Green (strained left calf) is OUT.
- Jonathan Kuminga (sprained right ankle) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 27-31 against the Warriors in the regular season (16-13 at home, 11-18 on the road) and 3-4 in the playoffs (2-1 at home, 1-3 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series with the Warriors 7 times, lost it 7 times, and tied twice.
- The Thunder went 3-1 against the Warriors last season (1-1 at home, 2-0 on the road).
- The Thunder is 1-1 against the Warriors so far this season (0-1 at home, 1-0 on the road).