The Oklahoma City Thunder failed to make the In-Season Tournament knockout stage, which prompted the NBA to add two games to their schedule. Now, the OKC Thunder slate sits at 82 games, and next week will feature a block-buster affair in the Paycom Center.
In the In-Season tournament, only eight of the 30 teams advance to the knockout stage, with the first round being held at team arenas, before shifting to Vegas for the final four and title round. With the OKC Thunder failing to advance out of the group play stage, the NBA had to assigned a home and road game to the docket.
The OKC Thunder see the NBA add a blockbuster game to their schedule, taking on the Golden State Warriors in the Paycom Center.
So far this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have already matched up with the Golden State Warriors three times, with OKC coming out victorious in two of the three tilts. The lone loss was the teams inaugural In-Season tournament game that ended in controversy and didn't see Shai Gilgeous-Alexander log a single minute.
The season series to this point is bookended with a thrilling overtime win for Oklahoma City on the road, which saw Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drop 40 points, and Chet Holmgren hitting a turnaround three at the buzzer to push the game to overtime.
The Thunder is scheduled to play the Rockets in Houston on Dec. 6 and host the Warriors in Oklahoma City on Dec. 8.
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) November 29, 2023
Following that overtime win, the OKC Thunder rubbed the Golden State Warriors the wrong way according to veteran Andre Iguodala. Now, the two sides will meet again, this time for the second time on the Paycom Center hardwood.
The other game added to the schedule will see the OKC Thunder travel to take on the Houston Rockets on December 6th, as the two young rebuilds are each looking to take the next step. This is a tilt that each fanbase always has circled on the calendar.