Associated Press

Oklahoma City Thunder (16-5, first in the Western Conference) vs. Toronto Raptors (7-15, 12th in the Eastern Conference)

Toronto; Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Toronto will try to keep its four-game home win streak intact when the Raptors play Oklahoma City.

The Raptors have gone 6-4 at home. Toronto is the top team in the Eastern Conference averaging 56.7 points in the paint. Jakob Poeltl leads the Raptors scoring 13.1.

The Thunder are 7-3 on the road. Oklahoma City is sixth in the Western Conference with 16.4 fast break points per game led by Jalen Williams averaging 3.9.

The Raptors make 46.9% of their shots from the field this season, which is 4.3 percentage points higher than the Thunder have allowed to their opponents (42.6%). The Thunder average 13.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.6 more makes per game than the Raptors give up.

TOP PERFORMERS: Poeltl is scoring 16.0 points per game with 11.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Raptors.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is scoring 29.8 points per game with 5.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists for the Thunder.

LAST 10 GAMES: Raptors: 5-5, averaging 113.7 points, 48.0 rebounds, 28.3 assists, 7.0 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.4 points per game.

Thunder: 7-3, averaging 112.2 points, 42.5 rebounds, 25.4 assists, 11.4 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 102.9 points.

INJURIES: Raptors: Kelly Olynyk: out (back), Gradey Dick: day to day (calf), Bruce Brown: day to day (reconditioning), Immanuel Quickley: out (elbow).

Thunder: Chet Holmgren: out (hip), Ousmane Dieng: out (finger), Jaylin Williams: out (hamstring), Nikola Topic: out for season (acl), Alex Caruso: day to day (hip).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

A new initiative by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce aims to simplify the process of starting and running small businesses in the state through a centralized online portal called the Business Hub.

The website, launched in collaboration with several state agencies, provides entrepreneurs with a one-stop shop for resources and guidance to name, register, and operate their businesses. The portal also offers educational tools and assistance with tax forms.

“We’re incentivizing people to live, work and play in Oklahoma,” said Ray Little, director of entrepreneurship and small business at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.

Starting a business can often feel overwhelming, a challenge the Business Hub seeks to address.

“A lot of states make it really murky,” Little said. “We wanted to create a one-stop shop.”

Traditionally, entrepreneurs in Oklahoma have had to navigate multiple state agencies to launch their businesses, including the Secretary of State’s Office, the Tax Commission, and the Department of Commerce. The Business Hub streamlines the process by consolidating all the necessary steps into a single platform.

“Go to the Business Hub and you can find out how to do all that in one place,” Little said.

The initiative is a collaboration between the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, the Oklahoma Tax Commission, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, and the Secretary of State’s Office.

“We want to promote Oklahoma as the top state for business,” said Secretary of State Josh Cockroft, whose office oversees business registrations. “When you have those entrepreneurs that are looking at the state of Oklahoma, you want to make sure that you make the process as easy as possible.”

The Business Hub is designed to bolster a vital sector of Oklahoma’s economy.

“Small businesses is where we go to shop, is where we go to eat, it’s where we go to live,” Little said.

For additional support, the Department of Commerce offers direct assistance at 405-630-7455.

Click here to visit the business hub.

A former Oklahoma basketball player won’t make his return to Norman on Tuesday.

Georgia Tech guard Javian McCollum, who was OU’s starting point guard in the 2023-24 season, will not play in his grudge match against the Sooners. 

McCollum did not travel with the Yellow Jackets to Norman and currently has a concussion, a source told Oklahoma Sooners on SI.

Oklahoma Hosts Georgia Tech in ACC-SEC Challenge Looking to Improve to 8-0

McCollum started 30 games for Oklahoma a year ago after transferring to the program from Siena. The point guard led OU in scoring in his lone season in Norman, averaging 13.3 points per game.

Now in Atlanta, McCollum played in Georgia Tech’s first five games of the 2024-25 season, averaging 12.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. McCollum suffered a concussion in the Yellow Jackets’ 81-58 loss to No. 18 Cincinnati on Nov. 23 and hasn’t played since.

McCollum didn’t participate in the Yellow Jackets’ wins over Charleston Southern and Central Arkansas and will again miss out against his former team on Tuesday.

OU Basketball: Oklahoma Included in AP Top 25; Where are the Sooners Ranked?

The Sooners’ game against Georgia Tech is part of the ACC-SEC Challenge, an annual in-season series, starting in 2022, that pits teams from those conferences against one another.

OU enters Tuesday’s game 7-0 after beating Providence, Arizona and Louisville in the Battle 4 Atlantis midseason tournament in the Bahamas. 

Tuesday’s game against Georgia Tech is one of three non-conference games against power opponents remaining for the Sooners. OU will battle Oklahoma State and Michigan — both at neutral sites — in addition to home games against Alcorn State, Central Arkansas and Prairie View A&M.

OU begins its first conference season in the Southeastern Conference on Jan. 4 when the Sooners host No. 10 Alabama.