<\/p>\n ![\"Oklahoma](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774902855_779_.webp\")
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\n Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 30 as Thunder defeat Knicks 111-100, extending NBA-best record to 59-16. OKC outscores NY 31-13 from free throw line.\n <\/p>\n
March 29, 2026 09:55 PM<\/p>\n
1 min read<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City is still fighting off the San Antonio Spurs, who have 8 consecutive games, for the top overall seed in the Western Conference. <\/p>\n
The Thunder enter Monday\u2019s game at 59-16, now 2.5 games ahead of the Spurs. <\/p>\n
The Pistons will be shorthanded this time around, and OKC is resting key starts Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein. <\/p>\n
Last matchup, Detroit defeated Oklahoma City 124-116 in a game that saw the Thunder sit several key player including Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Hartenstein and more. <\/p>\n
\n Thunder vs. Pistons: Where\/how to watch<\/b><\/p>\n
Matchup: Detroit Pistons at Oklahoma City Thunder
Date: Friday, March 30
Time: 8:30 p.m. CT
Location: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City
TV: NBA Sports, Peacock<\/p>\n
\n Thunder playing it safe with injuries<\/b> <\/p>\n
Jalen Williams returned to form against the Knicks on Sunday, scoring 22 points on 7-11 shooting on a minutes restriction. He played 29 minutes compared to Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s 37. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s played just 30 games this year and coming off a high-intensity game last night, the Thunder will sit the All-Star at home tonight. <\/p>\n
Along side him on the bench for rest purposes will be Isaiah Hartenstein, who played 24 minutes last night, and is still dealing with a lingering right soleus injury. <\/p>\n
He has not played in both ends of a back-to-back since he suffered the injury in November. The team will rely more heavily on Chet Holmgre, Jaylin Williams and Ajay Mitchell in the absence of these two starters. <\/p>\n
\n Pistons staying afloat without Cade Cunningham<\/b><\/p>\n
Before the injury, Cade Cunningham was in the running for the league\u2019s Most Valuable Player award. <\/p>\n
He left early during the March 17 game against the Wizards, and the only loss since then was an overtime 130-129 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. <\/p>\n
A weaker schedule has permitted Detroit to maintain a firm lead for the the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Entering tonight\u2019s matchup with OKC, the Pistons are 4 games up on the Celtics for that spot. <\/p>\n
\n Thunder injury report<\/b> <\/p>\n
Out
\u2022 Isaiah Hartenstein – Injury management
\u2022 Jalen Williams – Injury management<\/p>\n
\n Pistons injury report<\/b><\/p>\n
Out
\u2022 Cade Cunningham – left lung<\/p>\n
\u2022 Jalen Duren – right knee<\/p>\n
\u2022 Tobias Harris – left hip<\/p>\n
\u2022 Duncan Robinson – right hip<\/p>\n
\u2022 Isaiah Stewart – left calf<\/p>\n
\n No. 1 seed matters<\/b><\/p>\n
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander emphasized the importance of securing home-court advantage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very important and not just in the West, in the whole playoffs,\u201d Gilgeous-Alexander said. \u201cWe needed Game 7 at home against Denver (last year) … and then we needed it against Indiana to win the championship, so it\u2019s as important as everything and every team in the NBA that makes the playoffs knows that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gilgeous-Alexander also welcomes the competitive finish to the regular season.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year I had too much time off before the playoff game and the last game I played in the regular season, so I think I was a little bit rusty going into the playoffs,\u201d Gilgeous-Alexander said. \u201cAnd I just love to play, so I\u2019ll get a chance to go out there and play a few more games, which will be fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n Playoff positioning<\/b><\/p>\n
Western Conference (Projected)<\/p>\n
\n- Thunder<\/li>\n
- Spurs<\/li>\n
- Lakers<\/li>\n
- Nuggets<\/li>\n
- Timberwolves<\/li>\n
- Rockets<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The Thunder have already clinched a playoff berth and now focus on securing the No. 1 overall seed and home-court advantage throughout the postseason.<\/p>\n
\n Key postseason dates<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 NBA Play-In Tournament: April 14-17
\u2022 NBA Playoffs begin: April 18
\u2022 NBA Finals Game 1: June 3<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Thunder return to Paycom Center on the second night of a back-to-back,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":693225,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[1260,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-693224","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-nba","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116320040840892182","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=693224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/693225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=693224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=693224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=693224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}