Thunder Riding Winning Streak

The Thunder have won three straight, four of five, and eight of their last ten, as they continue to sit atop the Western Conference standings. At 26-6 at home, they have one of the best marks in the NBA, making the Paycom Center into one of the best homecourt advantages in the league. The Western Conference standings have been tight near the top or months now and every win, especially the ability to get one at home, is instrumental towards finding success. Their in the middle of a nice part of the schedule right now, with a trio of winnable games coming up next. A win in this one would help create the potential for a lengthy winning streak, which is exactly what the Thunder need to ensure they’ll be the Western Conference’s top seed.

Part of Oklahoma City’s success this season has stemmed from their ability to avoid a lengthy injury report, especially of late. Jalen Williams (ankle) is the only player appearing on the report heading into this one, as the second-year player is questionable. As the team’s second-leading scorer, he could be missed in this one.

Against Indiana’s elite and efficient offense, being without Williams (19 ppg) could be trouble, especially if they struggle to get the needed stops on the defensive end. With the league’s second-ranked offense in field-goal percentage and first in three-point percentage, the Thunder have some offensive spunk themselves. Against an Indiana team that ranks right near the bottom in almost every defensive category, they shouldn’t have nearly as much trouble getting baskets. The Thunder lean heavily on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31.1 ppg) and with Chet Holmgren (16.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg) adding valuable minutes in the frontcourt, this have become one of the more complete teams in the league, which will spell trouble for Indiana.

Pacers Take On Road Woes

Indiana has impressed so far this season and if the season ended today, would avoid the play-in tournament all together. One concern are their troubles on the road, where they have a losing record at 16-17. The playoffs will likely have them as the road team, so building road confidence over this final stretch of the season is key. They are 2-0 in their last two road games, winning at Orlando and Dallas but the road life might be catching up to them in this one. This will mark their fifth game in six tries that they’ll be away from home but with a home-stand coming up, which includes quite a few winnable games, a win in this one would be huge for momentum.

The Pacers have a few injuries to worry about as they finish up the road trip. They have a pair already ruled out in Doug McDermott and Bennedict Mathurin, with Mathurin being a tough blow considering his rise of late. Beyond those two, Jalen Smith (illness) is also a gametime decision.

Indiana’s offense is ranked tops in the league in a number of categories and facing one of the league’s top defenses, they’ll be excited to see what’s in store. They rank first in field-goal percentage and field-goals made, as well as sitting sixth in three-point percentage. Their ability to distribute the ball has been key and sitting second in assist to turnover ratio shows how far they’ve come in taking care of the ball too. Tyrese Haliburton (20.8 ppg) has established himself as a star in the league, while the addition of Pascal Siakam (20.6 ppg) gives them two scorers to lean on. With seven double-figure scorers, the Thunder will have their hands full trying to slow down Indiana in this one.