For the second time in just over a week, conference leaders the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers will do battle at the PayCom Center on Friday.
Both sides claimed comfortable wins in their most recent outings leading up to this one as the hosts saw off the threat of the Philadelphia 76ers, while the away side made light work of the Indiana Pacers.
Match preview
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The Oklahoma City Thunder have been on a roll for large parts of the current season, and their reaction to Thursday's defeat to the Cavaliers further highlighted their readiness to compete for a championship.
Mark Daigneault's men have come out on top in each of their subsequent three matches by a combined margin of 82 points off the back of Wednesday's commanding 118-102 triumph over the 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center.
Continuing his charge for the MVP award, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was on fire once again as he posted 32 points on an impressive 12-15 shooting from the field to go along with nine assists, both of which were game highs.
Having won 33 of their 39 matches this term, the Thunder are on track for a 70-win campaign, which is something that has not been achieved in the NBA since the 2016 Golden State Warriors side that went 73-9.
While the Thunder will be hopeful of emulating the Warriors in that regard, they will be keen to go one better than the '16 Warriors, who suffered a disappointing defeat in the NBA finals after going 3-1 up.
Friday's encounter is the final of a seven-game stretch against Eastern Conference opponents for the hosts before they head to the American Airlines Center to face off against the Dallas Mavericks 24 hours later.
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Off the back of suffering a first defeat since early December in Monday's encounter against the Indiana Pacers, the Cleveland Cavaliers wasted no time exacting revenge as they claimed a 127-117 win over the Pacers on Wednesday.
Up by one point after 24 minutes of action at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Kenny Atkinson's men turned the screw in the third quarter to stretch their advantage to 11 which made the final 12 minutes easier to navigate.
Now 34-5 for the season, the Cavaliers boast the best record of any NBA side at the moment and are also on track for a 70-win campaign like their next opponents, who have been tipped to return to the finals after a 13-year absence.
While the Cavaliers managed to emerge victorious from the most recent edition of this fixture, they had lost each of three meetings prior to that and will be wary of suffering another defeat against the home side.
Friday's affair sees the away side kick off a run of four straight games versus Western Conference sides with games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Phoenix Suns and the Houston Rockets on the horizon.
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Team News
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Chet Holmgren is still unavailable with a right iliac hip fracture, but a return to action is not far off for returning to action having joined the Thunder for their four-game road trip.
Adam Flagler continues to nurse a metacarpal fracture, while Ajay Mitchell is set for three months on the sidelines after undergoing a procedure on a turf toe sprain in his right foot.
Despite recently taking part in a light shooting drill, 19-year-old Nikola Topic is not expected to feature this season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Emoni Bates suffered a knee problem on G-League duty with the Cleveland Charge and will not be playing any part in Friday's encounter for the Cavaliers.
The away side will also have to make do with the absence of Luke Travers, although Ty Jerome could be back in time to feature off the back of his no-show against the Pacers due to illness.
Oklahoma City Thunder possible starting five:
Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort; Wallace, Williams; Hartenstein
Cleveland Cavaliers possible starting five:
Garland, Mitchell; Wade, Mobley; Allen
We say: Thunder to win by 5+ points
Given their respective forms this term, both teams will back themselves to come out on top here, and we are expecting another cracking contest.
That said, we are backing the Thunder to get the job done this time around and get their revenge on the Cavaliers for Thursday's loss.
Adepoju Marvellous
