Thunder Gameday: OKC Looking to Go Unbeaten in Season Series Against Chicago

Entering the contest on a five-game hot streak, the Oklahoma City Thunder is set to compete against DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

On opposite ends of the spectrum, Oklahoma City sits at No. 2 in the West at 10-4, while Chicago finds itself at No. 12 in the East with a 5-10 record.

The last time these two teams met came at the very beginning of the season, when the Thunder claimed a 124-104 victory in each team's opening game of the year.

31 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 16 apiece from Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey, and 48.7% from 3-point distance, played the largest factors in Oklahoma City's win in their opening matchup.

ODDS:

The Thunder enter the day as seven-point favorites against the Bulls, and the total over/under is 223.5 points.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

Last time around, the only glaring problem Oklahoma City faced against Chicago was the Bulls' interior tandem in Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond.

The one who beared most of that burden was rookie Chet Holmgren, who learned his first night in the NBA that there are some big brutes down low in this league.

He'd be held to just four total rebounds in the game, while Vucevic and Drummond combined for four offensive rebounds and 17 points.

It wasn't such a dominating effort to cost them the game, of course, as even rookie Cason Wallace nearly eclipsed the pair's combined total with 13 points on a flawless 5-of-5 shooting in his NBA debut.

Wallace, one of Oklahoma City's most efficient offensive players and best perimeter defenders, will also have to front some of the load again on Wednesday night.

Versus the likes of DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Coby White along the perimeter, Wallace will have to help hold down the Bulls' offensive talent with Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort.

RECORDS:

Oklahoma City Thunder (10-4) vs. Chicago Bulls (5-10)

INJURIES:

Check out our live injury tracker, along with our game day injury report that will release later today.

WHEN:

Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023 at 7:00 PM CT

LOCATION:

Paycom Center - Oklahoma City, OK

TV/RADIO:

Bally Sports Oklahoma, NBA League Pass, 98.1 FM The Sports Animal

FINAL WORD:

The Thunder should be feeling accomplished heading into this matchup — but the team should not be complacent.

Holmgren will be looking to have a much better outing this time around against Vucevic and Drummond, and Gilgeous-Alexander will look to mirror or improve upon his previous 31-point performance against this team.

Should Oklahoma City take the win, it'll claim a 2-0 record to win the season series versus Chicago.

Next, the Thunder will stay at home to take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 4 p.m. CT.

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