The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Phoenix Suns in the quarterfinals matchup during the knockout stage of the NBA Cup tournament. This contest is the second time these two foes will meet up in the Paycom Center during the NBA Cup. These two sides faced off to end pool play as both competed in the Western Conference Group A pool. The Thunder narrowly escaped the Suns to go 4-0 in the pool play to earn the No. 1 seed in the knockout stage but the point differential handed Phoenix the lone wild card spot as the No. 4 seed to grant a rematch on Wednesday.
This game had a lot of eye balls on it starting on Tuesday night, as each side released their initial injury report. Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed his first game of the season on Sunday against the Utah Jazz with Elbow bursitis. However, he wasn’t on the injury report on Tuesday night signaling his return. Oklahoma City is also getting back their pair of defensive aces in Lu Dort and Alex Caruso off the injury report. The Thunder will still be without Isaiah Hartenstein and Isaiah Joe.
For the Suns, Jalen Green has only played in two games this season as the bucket-getter is once again tabbed as out. However, star guard Devin Bookers has been upgraded to questionable as he deals with a groin injury.
Here is what to watch for in this contest.