OKC Thunder Looking to Carry Momentum Into 4-Game Road Trip

Oklahoma City is set for one of its most interesting stretches of the season thus far.

After finally getting the best of the San Antonio Spurs in Tuesday’s 119-98 win, the Thunder are now on the road for the next week, as a four-game road trip gets underway. Riding a four-game winning streak into this stretch, the Thunder are playing some of their best basketball in a while after a few weeks of uncharacteristic play.

For the Thunder, their win against the Spurs should be a confidence booster, as the team has now conquered the one squad to give them immense problems this season. However, that matchup was certainly more than just another regular season game, regardless of how Thunder players want to put it, so they need to ensure that there isn’t a letdown after one of their best wins of the season.

Of course, if who the opponent is makes the difference for the Thunder’s energy, they should have no issues finding that same motivation when they face Houston on Thursday night. The Toyota Center has been a spot where the Thunder have struggled mightily in recent years, but the Rockets have had their fair share of struggles this season.

Still, they present a tough matchup for the Thunder, who might need an MVP-like performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to overcome the Rockets’ defensive attack. Despite only sitting at sixth in the Western Conference standings, Houston still has the NBA’s second-best net rating behind the Thunder, so in some respects, this will be a matchup between the league’s top two teams.

From there, things should get a bit easier for the Thunder with three Eastern Conference matchups to finish the road trip, beginning with a Saturday rematch against the Miami Heat, who the Thunder just beat a few days ago, so there shouldn’t be any confidence lacking there.

From there, Oklahoma City will face the Cleveland Cavaliers for an MLK Day afternoon affair. While the Thunder have already suffered a loss to the East this season, they could still head into Cleveland looking for some revenge after that matchup was the only interconference contest Oklahoma City lost in the regular season in 2024-25.

Finally, the Thunder will get their easiest game of the road trip against a Milwaukee Bucks squad that can’t find any rhythm. While the Thunder could certainly have some tough games against their Eastern Conference opponents, a win against the Rockets on Thursday would put the Thunder in a great position to carry an eight-game winning streak back home.

While there’s always a chance of a letdown after a win like Oklahoma City had over the Spurs, this past week has brought the Thunder back to their identity, and this road trip could be their latest message to the rest of the league.