The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors have plenty of history over the last decade, but they enter Tuesday night’s meeting in OKC under different circumstances. The Thunder defeated the Grizzlies in Memphis on Sunday night for their 10th win of the season, while the Warriors dominated a shorthanded Indiana Pacers squad to move to 6-5 so far.
The Thunder has been without Lugentz Dort for the last four games after an early exit against the Los Angeles Clippers one week ago, and Jalen Williams has yet to make his season debut as he continues to recover from wrist surgery. Still, OKC has continued to find ways to win, seeing the bench step up in new ways. Ajay Mitchell, for example, is a leading candidate for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award, averaging 17.2 points, 4.1 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game.
As for the Warriors, Steph Curry is set to return to action after missing a couple of games due to an illness, and Al Horford is out due to tonight being the first game of a back-to-back.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has had a great start to his campaign as reigning MVP, and his ability to knock down shots in the clutch hasn’t gone unnoticed, as he is the betting favorite for the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year. Both of these teams have played solid defense so far this season, and tonight’s game will likely come down to who can get stops down the stretch. With how much clutch time the Thunder has played in lately, it makes sense that they’re up to the task.
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, Golden State Warriors Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Ajay Mitchell
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Warriors
- PG: Steph Curry
- SG: Jimmy Butler
- SF: Jonathan Kuminga
- PF: Draymond Green
- C: Quinten Post
Injury Report
Thunder
- Luguentz Dort (strained right upper trap) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Aaron Wiggins (strained left adductor) is OUT.
- Jalen Williams (right wrist surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Kenrich Williams (left knee surgical recovery) is OUT.
Warriors
- Al Horford (left toe injury management) is OUT.
- De’Anthony Melton (left ACL surgery) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 27-32 against the Warriors in the regular season (16-13 at home, 11-19 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 8 times, and tied twice.
- The Thunder went 1-2 against the Warriors last season (0-1 at home, 1-1 on the road).