If history repeats itself, Jalen Williams and the Oklahoma City Thunder should be heading to the NBA Finals in 2025. For the first time since 2012, the Thunder are 5-0 after beating the Portland Trail Blazers 137-114 but will have to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back set to get to 6-0. It’s their first back-to-back on the road, as Williams says he’s looking forward to facing the Clippers at their new state-of-the-art Intuit Dome.
After beating the Thunder’s win over Portland, a reporter asked Jalen if he’s looking forward to playing in the Clippers’ new arena.
“It should be cool. Right now, I’m looking forward to [our] long two-hour flight that we have. But it should be cool. I think any new arena is [going to] have a different sense to it, which will be really cool,” Williams said. “I’m looking forward to how that even works out. I know KD said it was like one of the best environments he’s ever been in. So, hopefully, it’s rocking.”
The Clippers, coming off a 125-119 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, enter their matchup against the Thunder with a 2-3 regular-season record. They remain winless (0-3) at the Intuit Dome this season and will have to compete without once again without Kawhi Leonard, who’s ruled out for Saturday’s contest.
Thunder make NBA history with win vs. Trail Blazers
Jalen Williams and the Thunder made NBA history against the Trail Blazers. With the lopsided, 23-point victory, the Thunder became the first team to race out to a 5-0 start with victories of 12+ points.
After the win, head coach Mark Daigneault was pleased with how his team responded following their 105-93 win against the Spurs, the closest his guys have come to their first loss of the season.
“I thought San Antonio was our weakest outing offensively in the four games just in terms of the way we want to play, and tonight was maybe our best,” Daigneault said after the win. “And they were physical with us. They had really good defenders on the floor, yet we solved problems with five guys tonight.”
Daigneault says his guys figuring things out on the fly was key to the blowout win.
“They do a good job of just staying steady through the ups and downs of the game,” Daigneault added. “They understand the nature of the game. They know it’s 48 minutes. We’ve had different experiences that we’ve learned from.”
The Western Conference-leading Thunder will look to go 6-0.
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