The Oklahoma City Thunder returned from a 4-game road trip on Tuesday night with a resounding victory against the Golden State Warriors. Despite a close first quarter, which featured multiple lead changes, the Thunder pulled ahead with 2:27 remaining in the period, and they never looked back. A 63-44 halftime lead grew to 107-72 by the end of the third, which allowed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and other key guys to rest in the fourth.
That rest will be key in Wednesday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, who enjoyed the day off yesterday on their way to Oklahoma City. OKC is likely still without a handful of guys—most notably Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort—but they have fared well due to their depth. These types of opportunities for young guys to get more minutes pay dividends as the season goes on, particularly once it comes time for the playoffs.
The Lakers don’t have as much depth, so they rely heavily on the front end of their roster. The Thunder’s defense is really good at locking down key guys, and how they defend Luka Doncic will likely dictate the outcome of this game. Keeping Doncic from not only scoring, but from playmaking as well, will be important for OKC. If the Thunder can take him out of the game, they very well could blow this one wide open, much like they did to Steph Curry and the Warriors last night.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 8:30 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: ESPN
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: Ajay Mitchell
- SF: Cason Wallace
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Lakers
- PG: Luka Doncic
- SG: Austin Reaves
- SF: Marcus Smart
- PF: Rui Hachimura
- C: Deandre Ayton
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.
Lakers
- LeBron James (right sciatica) is OUT.
- Adou Thiero (left knee surgery recovery) is OUT.
- Gabe Vincent (sprained left ankle) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 30-29 against the Lakers (16-13 at home, 14-16 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Lakers 8 times, lost 7 times, and tied it twice.
- The Thunder went 2-1 against the Lakers last season (1-1 at home, 1-0 on the road).