The Oklahoma City Thunder will look to recover quickly from a gut-wrenching overtime loss when they visit the Barclays Center to challenge the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night. The Nets, meanwhile, will be hoping to avert back-to-back defeats for the first time since late January following an underwhelming loss to the Washington Wizards in their most recent game.
Match Preview
After showing resilience to win a matchup Monday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Oklahoma City Thunder stumbled in a rematch just 24 hours later. The Thunder, though, suffered a shocking collapse in the fourth quarter, when they outscored for that period, 41–19, before losing the game in overtime.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams put up a combined 66 points on the night, but Oklahoma City could not escape losing at home for the first time in seven tries. Despite this setback, Mark Daigneault’s squad remains the top seed in the Western Conference, with a solid chance to finish strongly as the end of the regular season approaches.
One of the keys to this Thunder squad has been their ability to respond positively to losses. Oklahoma City had not lost in consecutive games since losing 3 straight in November. They will be hopeful of getting back on the right track against struggling Brooklyn Nets side.
Oklahoma City has also owned recent series history, winning five of the past six meetings with Brooklyn. Armed with an explosive offense and an intimidating defensive presence, expect them to dominate their opponents once again.
Brooklyn Nets Trying to Reclaim Their Lost Spirit
It was an annoying loss for the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday as they fell, 107-99, to the Washington Wizards, who had lost six in a row before beating the Nets. The Nets battled back from a 10-point deficit in the first half and carried a lead into the fourth quarter, but their offense went dormant down the stretch, scoring only 12 points in that final frame.
And with several core players out, Brooklyn's offense struggled. Cameron Johnson was the scoring leader with 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field and the Nets never had a go-to scorer. The offensive struggles have been an unfortunate trend this season, with the Sixers currently second-worst in the NBA in terms of points per game.
Despite those struggles, Brooklyn is still in contention for the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, currently sitting in the 11th spot in the standings. The race for the last playoff spot is tight, with the Nets competing with the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors to pass the Chicago Bulls in 10th place.
But it is a difficult challenge against a defensive juggernaut like Oklahoma City. The Thunder possesses the second-best defense in the league and Brooklyn must find a way to get consistent looks if they're to spring the upset.
Team News
Brooklyn’s injury concerns remain a factor. D’Angelo Russell (right ankle sprain) missed the last two games, but could return to face Oklahoma City. De’Anthony Melton, on the other hand, has been lost for the season to an ACL tear.
Both Cam Thomas (hamstring) and Noah Clowney (ankle) are questionable but at least one might get the green light Thursday.
Oklahoma City is also likely to see Chet Holmgren back in action after resting for the last game. Isaiah Hartenstein is questionable for the game after getting hurt in the nose against Minnesota.
The Thunder will remain without Nikola Topic (knee) and Ajay Mitchell toe (toe) with Topic continuing to rehab ahead of a return for next season.
Predicted Starting Lineups
Brooklyn Nets:
PG: Killian Hayes
SG: Cameron Johnson
SF: Mikal Bridges
PF: Cameron Johnson
C: Nic Claxton
Oklahoma City Thunder:
PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SG: Cason Wallace
SF: Jalen Williams
PF: Luguentz Dort
C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Prediction: Thunder wins by 10+
Oklahoma City has a history of rebounding from losses, and they should get up in Brooklyn. The Thunder’s elite defense, with an offensive firepower that Gilgeous-Alexander leads, should be able to overpower the Nets.
Brooklyn will continue to struggle offensively, particularly against top tier defenses, which will not help its cause to keep up. Expect the Thunder to roll to a blowout win and get back on track.
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