The Oklahoma City Thunder picked up just their second loss of the season on Saturday in the NBA Cup’s Semifinal game against the San Antonio Spurs. The 2-point decision was a disappointing one for the Thunder, but sometimes it takes a loss to remind you that, even when you’re the best in the league by a solid margin, you’re still vulnerable.
It took OKC’s worst shooting night of the season for the Spurs to pull off the narrow victory, and it won’t soon be forgotten. The Thunder has their off games—just like any other team—but one thing they do well is bounce back in a big way. OKC lost consecutive games just twice all of last season, and considering how heavily favored they are in Thursday night’s matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers, it’s not likely to happen now.
The Thunder is without Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams, which could make things difficult when it comes to defending LA’s Ivica Zubac. However, OKC’s fully healthy backcourt should be able to do some damage, considering James Harden is sitting out with a calf contusion. Kawhi Leonard looks about as healthy as he has in a while, and he’s playing at a high level. Still, even his best game will be difficult to match the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and a deep bench full of guys who are primed for a breakout on any given night.
Coming off a loss, the key for the Thunder needs to be to lock in on defense to take the load off the offense. You can’t just expect to come out shooting well after a bad one like the other night, but when the defense turns up, the offense tends to follow suit. OKC needs to get back to what they do best, and everything else should fall into place.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
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, LA Clippers Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Chet Holmgren
Clippers
- PG: Kris Dunn
- SG: Bogdan Bogdanovic
- SF: Kawhi Leonard
- PF: John Collins
- C: Ivica Zubac
Injury Report
Thunder
- Isaiah Hartenstein (right soleus injury management) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Jaylin Williams (right heel bursitis) is OUT.
Clippers
- Bradley Beal (fractured left hip) is OUT.
- James Harden (left calf contusion) is OUT.
- Derrick Jones Jr. (sprained right knee) is OUT.
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser (left knee soreness) is OUT.
- Chris Paul (not with team) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 35-27 against the Clippers (23-8 at home, 12-19 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Clippers 7 times, tied 4 times, and lost 6 times.
- The Thunder went 4-0 against the Clippers last season (2-0 at home, 2-0 on the road).
- OKC is 1-0 against Los Angeles so far this season (0-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- The Thunder has won 8 straight games against the Clippers in Oklahoma City.