The Oklahoma City Thunder will be looking to pick up a franchise-record 13th straight regular-season victory when they play host to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.
Having lost each of their last seven visits to the Paycom Center since March 2020, the Clippers will head into the weekend looking to break this hoodoo and secure the first win of the year.
Match preview
The Oklahoma City Thunder kicked off the new year in style as they rolled past the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-105 when the two sides squared off at the Paycom Center on Thursday night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his red-hot streak as he knocked down 40 points on 65% shooting from the field — registering 40+ points for the third time in five games — to go with three rebounds and two assists.
Gilgeous-Alexander was among four OKC starters to drop double figures, including Jalen William's 14 and Luguentz Dort's 14, while Isaiah Hartenstein tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds to record his 13th double-double of the campaign.
With their New Year's Day result, the Thunder have now won seven consecutive matches since their 97-81 loss against the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2024 NBA Cup championship game on December 18, and have tied a franchise-record 12 straight regular-season victories.
This blistering run of results has seen Mark Daigneault's men improve to a 27-5 record for the season, strengthening their lead at the top of Western Conference standings as they boast a 0.844 winning percentage after the opening 32 games.
While Oklahoma have entered the new year on a high, they will need to show their mettle over the next run of matches as they face the Los Angeles Clippers, the New York Knicks (home and away), reigning champions Boston Celtics and a red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers in a nine-day period.
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Clippers added another to their growing list of heavy defeats as they were on the receiving end of a 122-86 blowout loss against the San Antonio Spurs in the early hours of New Year's Day.
With the Clippers shooting 30-87 from the field, Victor Wembanyama knocked down 27 points in 26 minutes of action to go with nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks to inspire the Spurs to their 17th win of the campaign.
This marked a fifth game this season in which the Clippers have lost by at least 20 points, including a 120-98 defeat against the Denver Nuggets on December 14, a 108-80 home loss against the Timberwolves on December 5 and November's 126-94 defeat against the Celtics.
Prior to Tuesday night's loss, Tyronn Lue's men were on a three-game winning streak, brushing aside the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans to close out the year on a strong note.
The Los Angeles Clippers are now 19-14 from their 33 matches this season to sit sixth in the Western Conference standings, just one win above the rivals and next-door neighbours Los Angeles Lakers.
While the Clippers will look to shake off their poor outing against the Spurs and secure their first win of the year, they have lost each of their last seven road games against the Thunder, stretching back to a 109-94 victory in March 2020.
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Team News
The Oklahoma City Thunder remain without several players down the spine of the team as Chet Holmgren (hip), Adam Flagler (metacarpal) and Nikola Topic (ACL) continue their spells on the sidelines.
Alex Ducas is currently recuperating from a back injury and will sit out Friday's clash while Alex Caruso is also out of contention after sustaining a hip injury against the Washington Wizards on Boxing Day.
Since the NBA Cup heartbreak, Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 34.7 points per game across the subsequent seven matches and the 26-year-old is the second-leading scorer in the league (31.2), only behind Giannis Antetokounmpo (32.6).
As for the Los Angeles Clippers, Terance Mann missed the game against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night through a fractured left middle finger and the guard is ruled out of this weekend's clash.
He is joined on the injury table by floor general Kawhi Leonard, who remains ruled out as he continues his long road to full fitness after sustaining a severe knee injury in April.
Oklahoma City Thunder possible starting 5:
Wallace, Dort, Hartenstein, Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander
Los Angeles Clippers possible starting 5:
Powell, Harden, Dunn, Zubac, Jones
We say: Oklahoma City Thunder to win by 7+ points.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are flying high at the moment and will be backing themselves against a Los Angeles Clippers side who have lost each of their most recent three meetings.
OKC have their sights on breaking the franchise consecutive wins record, and while Lue's men will be looking to bounce back from their poor shooting display against the Spurs, we predict that the Thunder will come out on top and make it two wins from two to start the year. body check tags ::
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