Clippers vs Thunder NBA matchup
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
The 2-0 Thunder host the 1-1 Clippers on Sunday night at Paycom Center as 15.5-point favorites.
Oklahoma City leads the league in scoring defense, while L.A. is rebuilding after the Kawhi Leonard trade.
Background
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the reigning champions' roster built around guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 31.1 points and 6.6 assists last season. The Los Angeles Clippers, coached by Tyronn Lue, are described as decimated by the Kawhi Leonard trade and future draft-pick penalties, leaving guard Darius Garland as their clear No. 1 option. OKC opened 2-0 with double-digit wins over San Antonio and Denver and leads the league allowing 94.0 points per game, while the Clippers split their first two games, falling 125-117 at the Lakers on Friday.
How it unfolded
- Dec 18, 2025The Thunder beat the Clippers by 21 points as 16.5-point favorites in Oklahoma City; L.A. was then led by Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac, both no longer with the organization.
- Apr 8, 2026The teams' most recent meeting ended 128-110 for Oklahoma City.
- Oct 22, 2026OKC moved to 2-0 with a 96-84 home win over Denver.
- Oct 23, 2026The Clippers fell to 1-1 with a 125-117 road loss to the Lakers.
- Oct 25, 2026The teams meet for the first time in the 2026-27 regular season, a 7 p.m. ET tip at Paycom Center and the first night of a back-to-back for OKC, which hosts Phoenix on Oct 26.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- Oddsmakers and previewers expect the Thunder to handle a depleted Clippers team, with spreads ranging from 14.5 to 16.5 points and a moneyline as lopsided as Thunder -1400.
- Caution
- Covers notes that OKC went 29-2 straight-up but only 17-14 against the spread when favored by at least 14 points in 2025-26 including the postseason.
- Support
- Sports Illustrated's Peter Dewey notes the Clippers are 2-0 against the spread this season despite missing key rotation players.
Still unverified
Injury designations differ by source: one outlet lists Beal, Ingram and Konan Niederhäuser as day-to-day and Strus and Miller as out, while another lists all five as out; a third lists Topic, Sorber and Oweh as out for OKC.