It’s an interconference battle on the NBA hardwood as a pair of teams in search of a victory take the floor in the Sooner State. The Toronto Raptors are on the road as they make the trip to face the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday night. Toronto knocked off Houston 116-109 at home Wednesday night in their previous contest though they failed to cover the line as a 10.5-point favorite. Oklahoma City was edged 136-132 in double overtime at home by Milwaukee Wednesday night, failing to cover as a one-point underdog Wednesday night in their previous contest. In the all-time regular season series between the teams, the Thunder own a 31-20 advantage though the teams split two meetings last season. The most recent matchup saw Toronto pick up a 117-98 road win back on February 9, 2022.
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Toronto won for the fourth time in six games as they bounced back from a loss to the Bulls on the road by turning back the Rockets Wednesday. The Raptors entered Thursday 7-5 on the season and stood second in the Atlantic Division, 1.5 games behind the Celtics for the top spot. Against Houston, Toronto was down as many as 11 in the opening quarter and by eight after one stanza. The Raptors rallied to lead by three at the half after outscoring Houston 28-17 in the second quarter. Toronto led by as many as 10 in the third quarter but saw the lead trimmed to four after three quarters. Leading by one midway through the fourth quarter, the Raptors used an 11-4 run to take a 111-103 lead and hung on for the win. Toronto shot 41.2% from the field, including 15 of 44 from three-point range, and forced 16 turnovers in the victory. Fred VanVleet led the Raptors with 32 points in the victory.
On the season, To ronto stands 16th in scoring offense as they put up an average of 112.3 points per game this season. The Raptors are 17th in rebounding with 43.8 boards a night while they are 21st by dishing out an average of 24.1 assists a night. Toronto stands 4th in scoring defense as they allow an average of 106.8 points a night. OG Anunoby is fourth on the team with an average of 16.8 points plus 6.4 rebounds per game. Scottie Barnes (14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds), Fred VanVleet (18.8 points, 7.2 assists), Gary Trent Jr. (17.8 points) and Precious Achiuwa (10.7 points, 7.3 rebounds) are solid offensive options this season. Pascal Siakam contributes a team-leading 24.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists per contest this season. Christian Koloko, Thaddeus Young, Malachi Flynn, Juancho Hernangomez and Dalano Banton are all looked at to help Nick Nurse’s squad. The Raptors are 24th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 45. 1% from the floor as a team. Toronto stands 14th by knocking down 12.5 three-pointers a night while they are 14th in three-point field goal percentage as they sink 36.1% of their attempts on the season.
Siakam (adductor) suffered an adductor strain against the Mavericks November 4 and will be reevaluated in two weeks. Khem Birch (knee) will miss his fifth straight game as he has been ruled out for this contest: he last played on November 2 against San Antonio. Achiuwa suffered partial tears to ligaments in his ankle against Houston November 9 and will be in walking boot for at least the next 10 days. He has no clear timetable for return at this point.
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