Thunderous Intentions
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Preview: Thunder look to get back to winning ways in LA

By Yams

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 22: Russell Westbrook #0 of the OKC Thunder lays on the court before the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on November 22, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 22: Russell Westbrook #0 of the OKC Thunder lays on the court before the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on November 22, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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The OKC Thunder
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – DECEMBER 31: Paul George #13 of the OKC Thunder reacts during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on December 31, 2017 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The OKC Thunder enter the new year with a record of 20-17 after losing their final two games of 2017 in rather heartbreaking fashion. They look to start off 2018 with a win when they face the Los Angeles Lakers in a game.

The first of said two games was against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks, having played the night before against the Wolves, came to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder. By the end of the first quarter, the Bucks were obliterating the Thunder.

Not to be put off by that terrible first quarter, the Thunder pulled back into the game and found themselves within 3 points with 10 seconds to go. Thunder ball.

Raymond Felton gets the inbound pass. Russell Westbrook, having dominated the game, receives the ball. He pulls up for three…and HE SCORES.

Unfortunately, that meant absolutely nothing as Giannis Antetokounmpo proceeded to score a controversial game-winning dunk with 0.9 seconds remaining. Everyone in the arena was livid. There were constant demands to review the play as Giannis seemed to travel as well as go out of bounds. That fell on deaf ears – the Thunder lost the game 97-95.

PG was out for that game and took to twitter to say this when it happened:

https://twitter.com/Yg_Trece/status/946945397104226306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthunderousintentions.com%2F2017%2F12%2F31%2Fgame-day-preview-okc-thunder-stay-home-to-take-on-mavericks%2F

Patrick Patterson simply had enough of NBA officiating and tweeted this the very next day (WARNING NSFW):

The Thunder then faced the Mavericks, once again at home. It was a shooutout unlike the previous game. Oklahoma City lost by 3 points, with Westbrook missing two game-tying threes towards the end of the game. OKC, having won 6 straight heading into the Bucks game, now find themselves losers of their last two.

All eyes will be on Paul George tonight. He has stated that he has interest in joining the Lakers in free agency a few times, but he also said that he’d love to stay with the Thunder if they make a run in the playoffs. For now, it seems that he’s on the fence.

The Lakers have struggled mightily recently, which may put George off the thought of signing in LA. They’ve lost their last seven games, allowing opponents to put up 123 points per game in their last five games.

The way they’ve played for most of the season doesn’t tell the whole story, with their record of 11-25 being the second-worst in the NBA. That doesn’t play into their favor because the Celtics get their first round pick if it’s a top 5 pick. They’ve played better than what their record indicates up until recently. Much of that has to do with injuries.

Every OKC Thunder game needs to be dealt with seriously solely because of their early-season struggles. Oklahoma City needs to be on top of their game if they want to get a win out of LA.

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