In one of several NBA Christmas matchups, the Oklahoma City Thunder will go down to Texas to face the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center in San Antonio on Christmas Day, Dec. 25. Viewers can watch the game online via live stream - free for subscribers - below.
In a rare Christmas miracle, both teams could have a full roster on Thursday's game. According to Anthony Irwin of Rant Sports, this development would make this NBA game worth watching.
"The two teams have been the class of the Western Conference for most of recent memory, and if this is some sort of last hurrah for San Antonio, it'll probably have to go through Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook (my MVP thus far) and the rest of this talented, young Thunder roster," Irwin wrote.
Irwin added that based on "athleticism and youth," the Thunder will have a slight advantage "on paper." Neil Greenberg of the Washington Post agreed, noting that Durant and Westbrook are now fully healthy, having recovered from their injuries.
"With those two on the court, the Thunder score 18 more points per 100 possessions than they allow and shoot nearly 50 percent from the field," Greenberg wrote.
However, Sports Xchange noted that Durant has missed the past three games with a sprained right ankle. Even the Spurs have had their share of sports injuries at times too; point guard Tony Parker went back on the court after being out for five games with a hamstring injury.
"It was hard to watch, a tough time," Parker said regarding his time on the bench. "So I was just trying to bring energy and be aggressive."
Sports Xchange noted Parker managed to score 26 points in Monday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers, which the Spurs won 125-118.
Greenberg commented that the Spurs built their team on defense. He noted that San Antonio has allowed the fifth fewest points per 100 possessions this season (102.7) and have Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard to back them up.
"Duncan is fourth in the league in blocks per game (2.2) and has held opponents to 45.1 percent shooting at the rim," Greenberg wrote. "With Leonard on the court opponents have been held to 97.5 points per 100 possessions and have scored 109.2 per 100 against the Spurs when he is on the bench."
Irwin thinks that it will be "an amazingly even game" since "both teams are still figuring themselves out thanks to injuries."
Thursday's game will air on ABC at 2:30 p.m. ET. While this option requires subscriptions and logins, online viewers, depending on local listings, can stream the game through ABC Live or the Watch ABC app for various devices.
