The Toronto Raptors aim for their fifth consecutive home victory on Thursday night as they face the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Raptors’ first and fourth wins in this home streak were against the Indiana Pacers, with victories of 130-119 on November 18 and 122-111 on Tuesday.
They will need to contend with a tenacious Thunder defense, as Oklahoma City has won five of their last six games, including a 133-106 win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday. The Thunder’s swarming defense forced 29 Utah turnovers, resulting in 45 points.
Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett will be expected to lead Toronto’s offense again. Barnes had a career-best 35 points on Tuesday, while Barrett added 29. Jakob Poeltl recorded his 13th double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Raptors shot 54.3 percent from the field.
The Raptors believe they are learning how to close out games, despite seeing their 24-point third-quarter lead shrink to just two points with 6:36 left in the fourth quarter. They improved to 6-4 at home but remain 1-11 on the road.
Toronto committed 21 turnovers against the Pacers on Tuesday and will need to improve against the Thunder.
Oklahoma City finished their game against Utah with 18 steals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 26 points and three steals, while Aaron Wiggins added 16 points and three steals. The Thunder shot 52 percent from the field and have a 7-3 record on the road.
The Thunder won both games against Toronto last season, with one of the victories coming in overtime.
