3rd quarter report
The Thunder are on the road but don’t seem any worse for wear. They are in perfect control of the match with a 104-69 lead over the Wizards.
If the Thunder continue to play like this, they will reach their 32-6 record in no time. On the other hand, the Wizards will have to settle for a 6-31 record unless they turn things around (and quickly).
Who’s playing
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Washington Wizards
Current records: Oklahoma City 31-6, Washington 6-30
How to watch
- When: Sunday January 12, 2025 at 6 p.m. ET
- Or: Capital One Arena – Washington, District of Columbia
- TV: Fan Duel SN – Oklahoma
- Follow: CBS Sports app
- Online broadcast: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket cost: $12.00
What you need to know
The Thunder will play the full four quarters on Sunday, but things are expected to be over well before that. Their road trip will continue as they take on the Washington Wizards at 6 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena. The Thunder defense has only allowed 103.6 points per game this season, so the Wizards’ offense will have its work cut out for it.
The Thunder can’t be too worried about facing the Wizards: they just beat the Knicks at home, who were previously dominant on their home court. Everything went the Thunder’s way against the Knicks on Friday as the Thunder won 126-101. With Oklahoma City ahead 70-43 at halftime, the contest was already almost over.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Joe were among the Thunder’s key playmakers as the former went 15 of 21 en route to 39 points plus two steals and the latter went 8 of 11 beyond the arc on its way to 31 points. The game was Gilgeous-Alexander’s seventh straight with at least 30 points.
Meanwhile, the Wizards’ recent rough patch got a little tougher on Friday after their fifth straight loss. They suffered a dismal 138-105 loss to the Bulls. Washington was surely aware of its point differential disadvantage, but its prescience did nothing to prevent the outcome.
Oklahoma City has been on a roll lately: they’ve won 16 of their last 17 games, which is a nice improvement to their 31-6 record this season. As for Washington, its defeat brought its record to 6-30.
Sunday’s game is shaping up to be a scrappy contest: The Thunder haven’t given up the ball easily this season, averaging just 11.3 turnovers per game (they’re ranked first in total turnovers per game). It’s a different story for the Wizards, as they have an average of 15.8. Given the Thunder’s considerable advantage in this area, the Wizards will need to find a way to close this gap.
The Thunder beat the Wizards in their previous meeting in December 2024 by a score of 123-105. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Thunder since the team won’t have home-court advantage this time around. We’ll see if the change of location makes a difference.
Odds
Oklahoma City is a big favorite with 16.5 points against Washington, according to the latest NBA Odds.
The line drifted a bit toward the Thunder, as the game opened with the Thunder as a 14.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 230.5 points.
See NBA Pick for every game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get Picks Now.
History of the series
Oklahoma City has won 6 of its last 10 games against Washington.
- December 23, 2024 – Oklahoma City 123 vs. Washington 105
- February 23, 2024 – Oklahoma City 147 vs. Washington 106
- January 8, 2024 – Oklahoma City 136 vs. Washington 128
- January 6, 2023 – Oklahoma City 127 vs. Washington 110
- November 16, 2022 – Oklahoma City 121 vs. Washington 120
- January 11, 2022 – Washington 122 vs. Oklahoma City 118
- November 26, 2021 – Washington 101 vs. Oklahoma City 99
- April 23, 2021 – Washington 129 vs. Oklahoma City 109
- April 19, 2021 – Washington 119 vs. Oklahoma City 107
- August 9, 2020 – Oklahoma City 121 vs. Washington 103
