OKC Thunder Miss Out on 50-Win Mark Versus Bucks

Oklahoma City couldn’t get to the 50-win mark versus Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks Sunday night.

Mar 24, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) drives for the / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma City couldn’t hit the 50-win mark on Sunday night, falling in a lackluster performance to the Milwaukee Bucks, 118-93.

Several members of the Thunder’s core didn’t have their fastball tonight, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren combining to shoot just six-for-22 from the field. With the team as a whole shooting just 37% overall, the Bucks coasted to an easy win.

With the loss, the Thunder moved to 49-21, suffering their first defeat since losing to the Pacers on March 12. They now stand at outright No. 2 in the Western Conference, just a half-game behind Denver and one full game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

OKC is still well ahead of schedule, though, smashing through its preseason 44.5-game win total weeks ago. With 12 games remaining in the 2023-24 season, it’s just a matter of when, not if, they hit 50 wins.

While a 50-win season likely doesn’t concretely mean much to head coach Mark Daigneault and his squad, it would be the first time the organization has hit the mark since the 2015-16 season, when it was led by OKC legends Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.

The 2019-20 team was on pace to get to 50 wins prior to the shortening of the season.

Oklahoma City next takes on the Pelicans at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26. That will be no easy contest either, with New Orleans winning nine games in its last 11 tries. After that, OKC takes on the Rockets, who are also going streaking with eight-straight victories.

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