It’s been two days since the Oklahoma City Thunder suffered an embarrassing 126-99 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers. The loss was OKC’s second in a row marking just the second time all season that the Thunder has lost back-to-back games. That’s as far as the losing streak has made it, though, and with the Lakers on deck for a rare scheduling quirk, OKC has an opportunity to get back on track.
Los Angeles had what felt like one of the greatest shooting halves in NBA history, knocking down 15-of-22 (68%) threes in the first half, and that was enough to bury the Thunder before the second half even started. It’s unclear who the Lakers will play and how much, but either way, OKC is going to want to offer some payback.
The postseason is so close that you can almost taste it, but there are still games to be played, and if you have to play, you might as well try to win, right? That’s easier said than done, though, as OKC’s playoff spot as the top seed in the West is entirely locked in, and these last few games are basically a formality for the Thunder. While it may be easy to look ahead to the Playoffs, rest assured that head coach Mark Daigneault is doing his best to remind the guys about the “stacking games” philosophy that the Thunder has, and coming out with some energy tonight would be a great way to get back on the right track ahead of the postseason.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: FanDuel Sports Network – Oklahoma
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: LeBron James
- PF: Dorian Finney-Smith
- 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 QUESTIONABLE.
Lakers
- Luka Doncic (strained right groin) is PROBABLE.
- Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle effusion) is PROBABLE.
- Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy) is OUT.
- Bronny James (illness) is OUT.
- LeBron James (strained left groin) is PROBABLE.
- Maxi Kleber (right foot surgery recovery) is OUT.
- Austin Reaves (sprained right ankle) is PROBABLE.
- Gabe Vincent (left ankle effusion) is PROBABLE.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 29-29 against the Lakers (15-13 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 1-1 against the Lakers (0-1 at home, 1-0 on the road).