It’s an interconference battle on the hardwood between teams in position for the play-in tournament in their respective conferences north of the border. The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the road as they make the trip to face the Toronto Raptors Thursday night. Oklahoma City knocked off Brooklyn 121-107 at home Tuesday night as a one-point favorite in their previous contest. Toronto took down Denver 125-110 at home Tuesday night, winning outright as a one-point underdog, in their previous game. In the all-time regular season series between the teams, the Thunder own a 32-20 advantage, including a 132-113 home victory in the first meeting this season on November 11, 2022.
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Oklahoma City won their third straight and their sixth in the last seven games as they took down the Nets at home Tuesday night in their previous game. The Thunder improved to 34-35 with the win and stood third in the Northwest Division, 12 games behind the Nuggets for the top spot. They stood eighth in the Western Conference, 12 games behind Denver for the top spot, two games behind the Clippers for the final guaranteed playoff spot and one game ahead of 11th-place Utah to remain in the playoff picture. Against Brooklyn, Oklahoma City scored the game’s first seven points, trailed by as many as 12 in the opening quarter and trimmed the margin to nine after one. The Thunder were down as many as 16 in the second quarter before getting within 10 at the half. Oklahoma City used an 18-3 run in the third quarter to turn a 73-65 deficit into an 83-76 lead with 2:42 to play and led the rest of the way. The Thunder shot 45.5% from the field, including 11 of 33 from three-point range, and forced 17 turnovers in the game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 35 points and seven rebounds in the win.
This season, the Thunder are 3rd in the league in scoring offense as they average 117.9 points per game on the year. Oklahoma City is 11th in rebounding with 43.8 boards per contest while they are 19th in assists with 24.8 dimes a night. The Thunder are 20th in the league in scoring defense as they allow an average of 116.2 points a night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the team with 31.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per contest. Luguentz Dort is the most reliable secondary scoring option with 14 points per game. The Thunder look to get more production from Josh Giddey (16.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists) and Tre Mann (7.9 points) are other secondary scoring options. Aleksej Pokusevski, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Jalen W illiams (13.6 points), Dario Saric, Kenrich Williams, Darius Bazley and Aaron Wiggins have to be contributors if they hope to have success. Oklahoma City is 21st in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 46.8% from the floor as a team on the year. The Thunder are 13th by hitting 12.3 threes per game and 15th in three-point shooting by hitting 36% of their attempts from beyond the arc.
Chet Holmgren, the second overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, will miss the season after suffering a Lisfranc injury he suffered in a pro-am event during the summer. Pokusevski (ankle) last played on December 27: he underwent surgery and remains without a timetable for return. Kenrich Williams (wrist) is done for the season after rupturing a ligament.
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