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GAME PREVIEW: Heat wrap up road trip against Thunder

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Al Horford is out tonight for OKC, which can only help the Heat’s chances of ending their road trip with a win.

By Surya Fernandez
/ new
NBA: Miami Heat at Los Angeles Lakers Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

GAME STORY

The Miami Heat (13-17) go for their third straight win and a chance to finish 4-3 on their West Coast road trip when they face the Oklahoma City Thunder (12-18) tonight before returning home.

For the Thunder, the notable news to come out today is that they will rest Al Horford tonight - which figures to make life much easier for Bam Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk. George Hill (thumb) and Trevor Ariza (personal reasons) are also out.

Tyler Herro is questionable with a hip injury while Goran Dragic has been upgraded to day-to-day with his ankle injury but did not travel with the team during this trip. Gabe Vincent (knee) is probable.

In their sixth game of the regular season, the Heat beat the Thunder 118-90 at the AmericanAirlines Arena with Bam Adebayo leading the team with 20 points, Kelly Olynyk hit 5 3-pointers for 19 points in his first start of the season, and Jimmy Butler added 18 points and six assists in a game in which they went on a 20-0 run in the third quarter to take control of the game and coast to victory. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City that night with 18 points and is currently averaging 22.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.5 assists for the season.

OKC has gone 3-7 in their last 10 games and are 4-9 at home this season. They defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-101 in their last game but have not won consecutive games since Jan. 27.

ODDS: FiveThirtyEight gives the Heat a 61% chance to win the game.

HEAT VS THUNDER: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22 AT 9:00 PM.

INJURIES

MIAMI:

  • Meyers Leonard: out for season (shoulder)
  • Avery Bradley: out (calf)
  • Chris Silva: out (hip)
  • Goran Dragic: out (ankle)

OKLAHOMA CITY:

  • Al Horford: out (rest)
  • George Hill: out (thumb)
  • Trevor Ariza: out (personal)

LINEUPS

Projected Starters

Celtics Position Heat
Celtics Position Heat
Marcus Smart PG Kyle Lowry
Jaylen Brown SG Max Strus
Jayson Tatum SF Jimmy Butler
Al Horford PF PJ Tucker
Robert Williams III C Bam Adebayo

BROADCAST INFO

TV: Fox Sports Sun, NBA League Pass
RADIO: The Ticket 790AM & The HEAT Radio Network (Mike Inglis, Ruth Riley Hunter)
SPANISH RADIO: WAQI 710AM & The HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda, Joe Pujala)

Come back to Hot Hot Hoops at game time to join our GameThread and chat about the game live with other Heat fans!

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