And just like that, the end of the regular season has arrived. OKC will finish with the best record in the league, securing home-court advantage through the Playoffs, and the starters will rest yet again for the regular season finale in New Orleans against the Pelicans. That means Thunder fans are in store for an exciting show from the arguably the league’s best backups.
With the starters sitting out on Friday night, the Thunder navigated the Utah Jazz just fine. Aaron Wiggins was unstoppable as he led all scorers with 35 points, Isaiah Joe tied a Thunder record by knocking down 10 threes on his way to pouring in 32 points, and Jaylin Williams recorded another triple-double as he finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in just 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans have experienced nothing short of a tragic season in New Orleans, perpetually fighting the injury bug. They are without most of their roster with just 7 active players, and as long as OKC takes care of business, the Thunder will hand the Pelicans a 7th straight loss to end their season.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 2:30 PM CT
Location: Smoothie King Center (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Television: FanDuel TV – 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, New Orleans Pelicans Official Game Notes
Thunder
- PG: Isaiah Joe
- SG: Aaron Wiggins
- SF: Dillon Jones
- PF: Kenrich Williams
- C: Jaylin Williams
Pelicans
- PG: Jose Alvarado
- SG: Elfrid Payton
- SF: Keion Brooks Jr.
- PF: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
- C: Kylor Kelley
Injury Report
Thunder
- Alex Caruso (sprained right ankle) is OUT.
- Ousmane Dieng (strained left calf) is OUT.
- Luguentz Dort (right patellofemoral injury management) is OUT.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (left shin contusion) is OUT.
- Isaiah Hartenstein (left Achilles tendinitis) is OUT.
- Chet Holmgren (low back spasm) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) is OUT.
- Cason Wallace (strained right shoulder) is OUT.
- Jalen Williams (strained right hip) is OUT.
Pelicans
- Brandon Boston (stress reaction in left ankle) is OUT.
- Bruce Brown (right knee soreness) is OUT.
- Jordan Hawkins (lower back annular fissure) is OUT.
- Herbert Jones (torn rotator cuff in right shoulder) is OUT.
- Karlo Markovic (left hamstring soreness) is OUT.
- CJ McCollum (bone bruise in right foot) is OUT.
- Yves Missi (left ankle soreness) is OUT.
- Trey Murphy III (torn labrum in right shoulder) is OUT.
- Dejounte Murray (ruptured right Achilles) is OUT.
- Kelly Olynyk (tendinosis in left Achilles) is OUT.
- Zion Williamson (bone contusion in lower back) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 38-21 against the Pelicans (19-10 at home, 18-11 on the road) in the regular season and 4-0 against them in the playoffs (2-0 at home, 2-0 on the road).
- The Thunder has won the season series with the Pelicans 10 times, tied it once, and lost it 4 times.
- Last season, the Thunder went 2-1 against the Pelicans in the regular season (0-1 at home, 2-0 on the road) and 4-0 against them in the playoffs (2-0 at home, 2-0 on the road).
- So far this season, the Thunder is 3-0 against the Pelicans (2-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).