What to Watch For in OKC Thunder vs. Miami Heat

The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Miami Heat for the second time in six games as they will wrap up their regular season series tonight. The Thunder used a massive third quarter run to overwhelm the Heat and knock off Miami on Sunday in the Paycom Center as the South Beach Ballers were on the second leg of back to back.

On Saturday, both teams come into this game fresh with a day off Friday but they have their own injury concerns. Oklahoma City is still without Isaiah Hartenstein as he is dealing with a right soleus strain as well as rookies Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber.

Miami is without Jamie Jaquez Jr., Davion Mitchell and tab Tyler Herro and Nikola Jovic as questionable. Back on Sunday, Herro entered the day questionable before suiting up against OKC.

Here is what to watch for in this matchup.

OKC Thunder, Miami Hea — Feb 12, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell (45) defends Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) as he dribbles down the court during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

What to Watch For

Can the Oklahoma City Thunder offense keep finding a groove? No, it hasn't been perfect but it has been much better since halftime of Sunday's game against Miami. The Thunder shot 42% from distance in the second half on Sunday and canned timely triples with improved percentages the last two nights against Western Conference Contenders. With the Heat's best defender in street clothes, can OKC find a flow state offensively?

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is up to 112 straight games of scoring 20 plus points, as he is on the heels of Wilt Chamberlin for the top spot whose impressive streak stands at 126 games. Each night this will be a massive story to watch.

Can Chet Holmgren parlay Thursday's start against Houston to a full game in Miami? Holmgren was ultra aggressive and found ways to finish plays on the offensive end while anchoring the rim at an elite level. As the NBA All Star decisions loom around the league, consistency is the name of the game to solidify this offensive leap by the Gonzaga product. With a big night tonight it would mean doing it against the Heat's best player and taking Bam Adebayo's impact away from Miami.

Game Information

Date: Jan. 17
Matchup: OKC Thunder (35-7) vs. Miami Heat (21-20)
Time: 07:00 PM CT
Location: Kaseya Center –– Miami, FL
TV: FanDuel Sports OK
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM)

The Oklahoma City Thunder are riding a five game winning streak and just like that have turned their mid season lull that left everyone in panic mode into the best ten game stretch in the NBA with the Thunder 8-2 in that span.

This stretch includes the Thunder starting 3-0 this week smack dab in the middle of a stretch that sees OKC play five straight games aganst above .500 clubs. Oklahoma City battled the Miami Heat on Sunday in the Paycom Center using a third quarter run to blow the South Beach Ballers out. Now, the two sides wrap up their regular season series on Saturday in Miami which is a buzzing city with this game seetting the table for the city to host the College Football National Title Game Monday

After this game, the Thunder will continue their road trip by jetting up to Cleveland for a Monday matinee battle with the Cavs before jumping over to take on the Bucks in Milwaukee.

Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of this game and the entire season for the Bricktown Ballers.