The Oklahoma City Thunder capped off Tuesday night’s regular season home finale against the Lakers with a fourth-quarter run that led to a 136-120 victory. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 42 points, Luka Doncic received a second technical foul and was tossed at a crucial point in the final period, and while both fanbases complained about officials, it was Thunder fans who were able to celebrate the win.
OKC now heads to Phoenix to take on the Suns to begin a 3-game road trip to wrap up the regular season. The Suns are coming off a 133-95 loss to the Golden State Warriors, and now, Phoenix is just one loss or one Dallas Mavericks win away from being eliminated from the play-in game. It would make sense for the Thunder to rest some guys after playing heavy minutes last night, but OKC hasn’t stopped caring about games, despite wrapping up the top spot in the West weeks ago. Meanwhile, Phoenix appears to have given up hope of making the play-in as they have lost 7 straight.
Even if the Thunder’s main guys don’t play, the bench depth is solid, and they should provide plenty of entertainment for the fans in Phoenix. The Suns aren’t quite as deep, though, so regardless of who plays for either side, this might be a sour ending to a bad season for Phoenix.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 9 PM CT
Location: PHX Arena (Phoenix, Arizona)
Television: FanDuel Sports Network
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, Phoenix Suns Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Alex Caruso
- SG: Isaiah Joe
- SF: Jalen Williams
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Jaylin Williams
Suns
- PG: Devin Booker
- SG: Bradley Beal
- SF: Ryan Dunn
- PF: Royce O’Neale
- C: Oso Ighodaro
Injury Report
Thunder
- Ousmane Dieng (strained left calf) is OUT.
- Luguentz Dort (right patellofemoral injury management) is OUT.
- Alex Ducas (strained right quad) is OUT.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (left shin contusion) is OUT.
- Isaiah Hartenstein (left Achilles tendinitis) is OUT.
- Ajay Mitchell (right great toe surgery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) is OUT.
- Cason Wallace (strained right shoulder) is OUT.
Suns
- Kevin Durant (sprained left ankle) is OUT.
- Nick Richards (right elbow inflammation) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder are 35-19 against the Suns (20-6 at home, 15-13 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder have won the season series against the Suns 9 times, tied once, and lost 5 times.
- The Thunder went 3-0 against the Suns last season (1-0 at home, 2-0 on the road).
- So far this season, the Thunder is 2-0 against the Suns (2-0 at home, 0-0 on the road).
- The Thunder has won 5 straight against the Suns.