Inside The Thunder

Clippers Star James Harden OUT Against OKC Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the LA Clippers on Thursday inside the Paycom Center. The Thunder are seeking its 13th straight win, which would be a franchise record. The Clippers have downgraded their star, James Harden, as out for this contest.

Rylan Stiles

Dec 30, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; LA Clippers guard James Harden (1) looks on against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; LA Clippers guard James Harden (1) looks on against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
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The Oklahoma City Thunder and LA Clippers are set to do battle on Thursday night inside the Paycom Center in the first game of 2025. The OKC Thunder are riding a 12 game winning streak, seeking a franchise best stretch with a win tonight over the Clippers.

LA comes in witha 5-5 record in its last ten games, 19-14 overall. Though the Clippers have been scrappy this season, the road for an upset win inside the Paycom Center got a bit tougher - Ty Lue took the podium before tip-off and announced James Harden is sidelined with a sore groin.

This makes just the second missed game for Harden this season, who has been an offensive engine for the scrappy Clippers. Though, LA now has to battle the chaos insighting Thunder defense without a key member of its backcourt and lean on its shallow set of tablesetters to protect the pumpkin - a tall order.

Oklahoma City is no stranger to facing short handed teams, just this past week they faced a Hornets squad without LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller before taking on a Memphis Grizzlies team that more resembled its G League affiliate than the no. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

The Thunder must still take care of business as massive favorites over the Clippers. It would be advantageous for Oklahoma City to get off to a fast start in order to manage a back-to-back stretch, with the New York Knicks coming to town on Friday night.

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Rylan Stiles
RYLAN STILES

Rylan Stiles is a credentialed media member covering the Oklahoma City Thunder. He hosts the Locked On Thunder Podcast, and is Lead Beat Writer for Inside the Thunder. Rylan is also an award-winning play-by-play broadcaster for the Oklahoma Sports Network. 

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