Thunder at Pistons preview: players out, last meeting, odds

With just one month left in the 2024-25 NBA regular season, The Thunder are in the NBA Playoffs. OKC secured a playoff spot on Wednesday in Boston, and have distanced themselves from the teams vying for the No. 2 seed: the Nuggets and Lakers. Oklahoma City owns the tie-breaker now with Denver, so the first seed in the West is almost a certainty. Saturday is the first game in a back-to-back for the Thunder as the upstart Pistons host, before OKC travels to Milwaukee for a Sunday ESPN matchup. The Pistons turnaround has been impressive, from one of the worst teams in the league to currently sitting 6th in the East. A familiar name in Oklahoma is one of the reasons for the turnaround.

Former OSU Cowboy, Cade Cunningham scored 38 points, including a career 20-of-21 night from the free-throw line, but Alex Sarr scored the go-ahead basket with 53 seconds left and added a crucial block, finishing with 19 points to lead the Washington Wizards to a 129-125 win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. Detroit Pistons fall to 37-30 overall on the season with the loss.

Jalen Duren added 18 points and 14 rebounds. Duren's follow shot gave Detroit a 125-124 lead, but Sarr answered with a dunk to put Washington ahead, followed by a block on Cunningham's dunk attempt.

Lineups

Aaron Wiggins Questionable (illness)

Last Matchup

Jalen Duren posted 22 points and a career-high 21 rebounds, leading the Detroit Pistons to a 120-104 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 28, 2024 snapping their five-game winning streak.

Jaden Ivey added 19 points for Detroit, who played without leading scorer Cade Cunningham, scratched for “injury management” after returning from a knee injury the previous day.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 31 points, while Jalen Williams added 20. Detroit held an 81-67 lead in the third, but the Thunder rallied to close within 90-86 before Ivey's back-to-back jumpers sparked a 10-0 run. The Pistons led 100-87 entering the fourth, maintaining a solid lead with key 3-pointers.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort sat out the fourth quarter, and Chet Holmgren played just 2:08. T

Despite shooting 56.5% in the first half, the Thunder trailed 70-61 at halftime, with Detroit holding a 9-2 edge in offensive rebounds and committing just one turnover.

Looking Ahead

Tomorrow is Milwaukee for a nationally televised game on ESPN. Another opportunity for SGA to solidify his MVP chase.

Game Info

March 15, 2025, 6:00

Little Caesars Arena Detroit, Michigan

Watch: CW19 in Tulsa, KSBI 52 in Oklahoma City

Odds

Thunder are listed as 6-point favorites via FanDuel