The Oklahoma City Thunder saw their 11-game win streak come to an end on Friday night with a 125-111 loss to the Rockets in Houston, but now OKC gets a chance to get back on the winning track as they host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon before playing them again at home on Tuesday night.
The Thunder has lost two consecutive games just once this season, and they tend to blow teams out following a loss, but the Lakers are not a team to be underestimated. Since trading Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic, many believe that Los Angeles is a legitimate contender in the Western Conference. At 47-30 on the season, the Lakers are 3rd in the West, and they have an uphill battle to overtake the Memphis Grizzlies for 2nd. However, they are just a half-game ahead of the Denver Nuggets for 4th, and they are just 1.5 games ahead of 8th place.
These next two games probably mean a lot more for the Lakers than they do for the Thunder, as OKC locked up the top spot in the West a couple of weeks ago, but counting the Thunder out from anything competitive is a bad move. While OKC doesn’t always play well from the start, they’re not exactly known for giving up when down, so a battle should be expected at the Paycom Center this afternoon.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 2:30 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: FanDuel Sports Network – 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, Los Angeles Lakers Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Luguentz Dort
- SF: Jalen Williams
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Lakers
- PG: Luka Doncic
- SG: Austin Reaves
- SF: Rui Hachimura
- PF: Lebron James
- C: Jaxson Hayes
Injury Report
Thunder
- Ousmane Dieng (strained left calf) is OUT.
- Alex Ducas (strained right quad) is OUT.
- Ajay Mitchell (right great toe surgery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) is OUT.
- Jaylin Williams (sprained left ankle) is OUT.
Lakers
- LeBron James (strained left groin) is PROBABLE.
- Maxi Kleber (right foot surgery recovery) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 29-28 against the Lakers (15-12 at home, 14-16 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Lakers 7 times, lost 7 times, and tied it twice.
- The Thunder went 1-3 against the Lakers last season (1-1 at home, 0-2 on the road).
- So far this season, the Thunder is 1-0 against the Lakers (0-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).