Oklahoma City Thunder (18-15) vs. Spurs (14-18)
When, where: Thursday, 7:30 p.m., AT&T Center
All-time series record: Spurs lead 95-76
Last season: Spurs won 2-1
Season series: Spurs lead 1-0
Last meeting: Spurs 121, Thunder 112, Nov. 7, AT&T Center
Thunder's last game: Beat Dallas Mavericks 106-101, Tuesday, OKC
Spurs' last game: Beat Golden State Warriors 117-113, OT, Tuesday, AT&T Center
Thunder's last 10 games/streak: 7-3, won three
Spurs' last 10 games/streak: 6-4, won two
Thunder's injury/inactive report: Guard Luguentz Dort (G League), out; forward Kevin Hervey (G League), out; center Justin Patton (G League), out; guard/forward Andre Roberson (left knee; injury recovery), out.
Spurs' injury/inactive report: Forward Drew Eubanks (G League), out; guard/forward Keldon Johnson (G League), out; forward Luke Samanic (G League), out; guard Quindarry Weatherspoon (G League), out.
Notable: After playing the Thunder, the Silver and Black end the week Saturday with a road game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee (31-5) has the best record in the league and leads the East Conference . . . No. 7 OKC leads No. 8 San Antonio by 3.5 games in the Western Conference standings . . . The Spurs ended the year below .500 for the first time since 1996. San Antonio wound up in the NBA lottery after finishing the 1996-97 season 20-62, and selected Tim Duncan with the No. 1 overall pick.
GAME PREVIEW
Times have been so lean for the Spurs this season that they have yet to win more than three consecutive games. That's quite a comedown for a franchise that won 13 straight and went 67-15 just four years ago.
The Silver and Black jumped out to a 3-0 start at home this season, but that's the only time they've won three in a row.
The Spurs (14-18) will have a chance to match their longest win "streak" of the campaign Thursday night when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder (18-15), who have won three straight and seven of their last eight.
No. 7 OKC leads No. 8 San Antonio by 3.5 games in the Western Conference standings. The Spurs beat the Thunder 121-112 in their first meeting of the season on Nov. 7 at the AT&T Center.
Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge went off that night, scoring 39 points on 19-of-23 shooting. He made 10 straight field-goal attempts at one stretch.
"LaMarcus, obviously, was a beast," Popovich said. "He was really good. He shot quickly, he made quick decisions and he also passed it out of there when he got doubled or there was a crowd.
"He did a great job of finding other people and played a really smart game offensively. Defensively, he's always an anchor for us."
Aldridge also finished with six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
An old-school player with an old-school game, Aldridge scored his 39 points without making a single three-pointer – a rarity in today's NBA. Aldridge was 0 of 1 from beyond the arc and 1 of 2 at the free-throw line.
"It was one of those nights," Aldridge said. "Just trying to stay in the moment. I definitely put the work in, so I was just waiting for my shot to come back. The first one felt good. After that, I tried to stay with it. Pop (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) kept calling plays for me. My teammates were finding me and I was just shooting it."
Aldridge had nine points in the first quarter, 10 in the second, 10 in the third and 10 in the final period. He knocked down 9 of 10 shots in the first half and was 10 of 13 in the last two quarters.
Point guard Dejounte Murray also had a stellar game, finishing with a career-high 10 assists. He also had 17 points and eight rebounds. The Spurs finished with a season-high 32 assists.
The Thunder have brought out the best in Aldridge since he joined the Spurs in the summer of 2015. He has scored at least 38 points in four of the 12 games he's played against OKC, including the playoffs. Aldridge had a career-high 56 points in a Spurs victory over the Thunder last Jan. 10.
Aldridge, who is averaging 19.4 points and 7.7 rebounds and shooting 51.3 percent this season, has worked to expand his offensive game. He nailed a career-best five three pointers and finished with 25 points in a 136-109 rout of Detroit on Saturday.
