The Oklahoma City Thunder will seek to kick off 2025 on a winning note when they welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves to the PayCom Center on Wednesday.
Both teams emerged triumphant from their respective last outings of 2024 and will be full of confidence heading into their first involvement of the new year.
Match preview
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Back on their home court after a brief two-game road trip, the Oklahoma City Thunder made light work of the challenge of the Memphis Grizzlies courtesy of a commanding 130-106 triumph in Monday's meeting.
Up by three points after the opening 12 minutes, Mark Daigneault's men seized control of the contest in the second quarter, at the end of which they stormed to a 26-point lead and never looked like relinquishing their advantage.
With the most frugal defence in the league taking on the most lethal offensive unit, the Thunder produced one of their best defensive performances of the season to stifle their high-flying opponents, who tallied their lowest points in a game since early November.
Winning each of their subsequent six outings, the Thunder have put their NBA Cup final disappointment behind them and are in arguably their hottest form of the season ahead of a daunting run of matches.
The Thunder are scheduled to take on the Los Angeles Clippers, the New York Knicks (twice), the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers over their next five regular-season games after their upcoming assignment.
Having been beaten in five of their last six home matches against the visitors, Wednesday's hosts will be wary of suffering yet another defeat in this fixture for what would be only a third loss in front of their fans this term.
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The Minnesota Timberwolves showed great mettle to edge out the San Antonio Spurs and claim a hard-fought 112-110 victory when the teams squared off against each other at the Target Center on Monday.
Following a slow start which saw them trail by eight points after the opening exchanges, Chris Finch's men produced a stunning second-quarter display to go into the interval up by 12 points, although their advantage was wiped out in the third quarter before the TWolves rallied in the final stretch to take the win.
That was a third consecutive win by a single-digit margin for the Timberwolves, who have now moved up into eighth place in the Western Conference, albeit only one win shy of the Lakers currently in fourth.
Fresh off coming under criticism for his offensive productivity, Donte DiVincenzo has now tallied back-to-back 20-point games with a season-high 26 points last time out to lead his new employers in scoring.
Aiming to win a fourth game on the bounce for only the second time this campaign, Wednesday's visitors now set out to keep the juggernaut rolling as they look to rediscover the form that saw them reach the last conference finals.
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Team News
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Chet Holmgren remains ruled out with a right iliac hip fracture, while Alex Caruso and Alex Ducas are unavailable due to hip and back injuries respectively.
Adam Flagler is currently nursing a metacarpal fracture and will be re-evaluated within the next fortnight to determine his availability to return to the fray.
Nikola Topic is ruled out for the remainder of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament but Cason Wallace and Luguentz Dort are back in contention after shaking off injury scares to feature last time out.
Daishen Nix and Luka Garza are both battling with ankle injuries at the moment, making them huge doubts to play any part for the Minnesota Timberwolves here.
Nineteen-year-old Rob Dillingham is also nursing an ankle problem that has sidelined him for three straight games, but the rookie could be back in time to play a part for the away side.
Oklahoma City Thunder possible starting five:
Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort; Wallace, Williams; Hartenstein
Minnesota Timberwolves possible starting five:
Conley, Edwards; McDaniels, Randle; Gobert
We say: Thunder to win by 5+ points
With 15 victories from their last 16 matches, the Thunder are rolling right now and will back themselves to keep their winning run going against a Timberwolves outfit that should put up a stern resistance.
We are backing the home side to come out on top at the sound of the final buzzer.
Adepoju Marvellous
