What to Watch For in OKC Thunder vs. Atlanta Hawks

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in the midst of a high-pressure home stand. After dropping their third game of the season to San Antonio on Thursday to tip off the Holiday Home Stand, the Thunder rallied to beat the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday afternoon inside the Paycom Center, returning to form in the second half. Now, they finish the four game home stint with the sub-.500 Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers on deck.

Oklahoma City has already crushed Atlanta once and Portland twice as the season creeps to the halfway point, but the Thunder must sweep the regular season series with the Bird Ballers on Monday despite this being the second leg of a back-to-back.

The Thunder have not released an injury report for this game yet as is traditional on the second leg of a back-to-back but they did see Isaiah Joe, Isaiah Hartenstein and Ajay Mitchell leave Sunday's game early due to injury. That along with the nature of the second night of a back to back is worth monitoring by itself.

Atlanta has announced they will be without All-Star lock Jalen Johnson, big man Kristaps Porzingis and have tabbed All-Star guard Trae Young as questionable for this contest. Three massive blows to the Hawks rotation as Atlanta attempts to curb a six game losing streak, being 2-8 in their last ten game.

This Hawks team should be an easy win for the Oklahoma City Thunder as the Bricktown Ballers attempt to build on the second half momentum of last night's win over Philadelphia.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder, Atlanta Hawk — Oct 25, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) dribbles against Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

What to Watch For

The Oklahoma City Thunder finally picked back up the defensive intensity in the second half against the 76ers after a two week long lull. It started by creating turnovers, 23 of them to be exact, that should happen again on Monday with Johnson out and Young's status up in the air.

Can the Thunder keep shooting the ball effectively for the second straight game? After making 57% of their shots against Philadelphia, the Thunder need to keep their foot on the gas on that end of the floor.

Speaking of, Chet Holmgren posted 29 points on Sunday shoting over 70% from the floor. He has shown flashes all season of being an All-Star lock and fringe All-NBA player until hitting a rough patch in December. Can he parlay this outing into consistent output as he showed the formula for success as Oklahoma City found him in the mid-range, rolling to the rim and in the dunker spot routinely against the 76ers.

Game Information

Date: Dec. 29
Matchup: OKC Thunder (27-5) vs. Atlanta Hawks (15-18)
Time: 07:00 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center –– Oklahoma City, OK
TV: FanDuel Sports OK
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM)

The Oklahoma City Thunder are hoping to build on the momentum captured after intermission of Sunday afternoon's affair with the 76ers. The OKC Thunder should be able to take advantage of a soft home stand this week to serve as a get-right stretch before the schedule condenses on Oklahoma City.

Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of this Oklahoma City Thunder season as the Bricktown Ballers continue to make history this season but look to get back on track.