Oklahoma City Thunder will look to beat last year's NBA finalists Cleveland Cavaliers at their own backyard when the two teams clash on Thursday.
Both teams have similar records – OKC is 17-8, while Cleveland is 16-7 – going into this game, and are also coming off impressive wins, albeit in contrasting fashion.
While Oklahoma City routed the Portland Trail Blazers, Cleveland came through another physical encounter against the Boston Celtics.
With the result already sealed fairly early in the game, most of the key men of the OKC Thunder were able to rest in the fourth quarter, the same of which cannot be said of the Cavaliers.
Cleveland went into the game against the Celtics with several issues to deal with. Kevin Love and Kelly Olynyk faced off for the first time after the latter dislocated Love's shoulder, while Jae Crowder and JR Smith met following a previous confrontation in which Crowder suffered a serious injury.
There were no apologies or unnecessary confrontations; both teams just got on with the game – yes, with a few incidents thrown in -- with Cleveland prevailing thanks to a strong second half performance.
"I'm able to do stuff that has nothing to do with the game but at the same time focus on what needs to be done," Cleveland's leader LeBron James was quoted as saying by the Associate Press, when asked how difficult it was for the team to focus on getting the right result.
"I've been in every situation that this game has presented. So many different matchups, so many different opponents, so I'm able to still know what the real, what the main thing is, and that's just us getting a win."
This game is more likely to just be a straight up, who defends better and makes the difficult shots at the right time contest. The Thunder will be in confident mood after easily seeing off the challenge of Portland.
"We know they're a jump-shooting team," Kevin Durant said after the 106-90 win. "We knew they were going to stay out on the perimeter, and we just want to contest shots, and I think we did a good job of that."
Where to Watch Live
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Oklahoma City Thunder is scheduled for an 8 pm ET (6.30 am IST, 1 am GMT) start. Live coverage of the NBA match in India will be on Sony Six and Sony Six HD. Oklahoma City vs Cleveland can also be watched via live streaming online on Sony Liv.
Audience in the US can watch the NBA game live on TNT, while the action can also be live streamed on TNT Online.
BT Sport will provide live coverage of the match for viewers in the UK, while the live stream option is on Watch BT Sport.
Audience from around the world can also watch Oklahoma City Thunder vs Cleveland Cavaliers live on NBA online.
