Clippers go for Fifth-Straight Win Against Rival OKC
With as often as players move around in the NBA these days, it's not uncommon for each game played to be against someone's former team.
That's especially true between the L.A. Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Clippers have three former Thunder on its roster, including Paul George, Patrick Patterson and Reggie Jackson. Oklahoma City takes that one step further, with four former Clippers: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala and Chris Paul.
This familiarity has led to two fiercely competitive matchups so far this season. L.A. won the first meeting 90-88 on Nov. 18, which came down to George hitting a go-ahead three-pointer with 25 seconds left on the clock.
Oklahoma City won the most recent game 112-118 on Dec. 22, using a dominant fourth quarter to close out the Clippers down the stretch.
As great as those games have been though, Clippers fans shouldn't expect a similar outcome on Tuesday night, when L.A. takes on OKC at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time. The Clippers are currently listed as 3.5-point favorites, according to Odds Shark.
Health has been a key factor for the Clippers in each of their previous meetings with the Thunder. Kawhi Leonard didn't appear in either game, Landry Shamet didn't play in the first and Patrick Beverley missed the second due to injury. Having those guys back will be crucial for L.A.
The Clippers have also been playing some of their best basketball of the season lately. Finally healthy, L.A. has won four games in a row against the Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers. The Clippers still haven't lost a game when the roster is fully healthy.
That said, Oklahoma City will be especially motivated to beat L.A. tonight. The Thunder won its first four games out of the All-Star break before being embarrassed by the Milwaukee Bucks in a 47-point loss last Friday on national television.
The Thunder have a significant rest advantage as well — Oklahoma City hasn't played since that loss on Friday, and the Clippers just played Sunday afternoon.
But even with a few factors on Oklahoma City's side, this is a game that the Clippers should win so long as they continue to play the brand of basketball we've seen in the last week.
A win would bring the Clippers up to 42-19 on the season and 9-0 when fully healthy. It's also a chance to shrink the gap between them and the Los Angeles Lakers, who currently have a 5.5 game lead over L.A.
