NBA preseason Thursday: Raptors-Knicks rematch at the Garden, Thunder close at Houston

Thursday, Oct. 15 is a two-game preseason night: the Toronto Raptors get a quick rematch with the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, and the Oklahoma City Thunder close their exhibition schedule at the Houston Rockets. Both games are the last tune-up of the preseason for the home team.

Thursday’s schedule

• Toronto Raptors (2-1) at New York Knicks (0-4), 7:30 p.m. ET, Madison Square Garden. Local TV: MSG Networks in New York, SN and SN+ in Toronto. No national broadcast.
• Oklahoma City Thunder (1-3) at Houston Rockets (1-1), 8:30 p.m. ET, Toyota Center. National TV: NBA TV.

Raptors at Knicks: the rematch two nights later

Toronto beat New York 148-98 at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday, a game the Knicks played without their regular starters. Coach Mike Brown held out Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart for rest on the second night of a back-to-back, and James Wiseman led New York with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points in 17 minutes in his first game for the Raptors since the 2019 championship, playing only the first half as planned. Scottie Barnes added 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and Collin Murray-Boyles scored 19 on 7-of-7, and Toronto’s lead reached 53.

WELCOME BACK TO THE 6IX, KAWHI!

In the first half of his 2026 @Raptors preseason debut:

🖐️ 21 PTS (12 in 2Q, game-high)
🖐️ 5 REB
🖐️ 2 STL
🖐️ 4 3PM
🖐️ 17 MIN pic.twitter.com/KQKVKcGd9W

— NBA (@NBA) October 14, 2026

The Knicks’ five regular starters were still listed day-to-day for rest on the injury report going into Thursday, so whether Brown plays them is the first thing to watch. This is New York’s fifth and final preseason game before it opens the regular season against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Garden on Tuesday, Oct. 20.

For Toronto, forward Jamison Battle is expected to make his preseason debut after missing time with a back issue, according to coach Darko Rajaković, who said Battle practiced fully on Wednesday. Center Nate Bittle remains day-to-day with a foot problem. The Raptors play again on Friday at Detroit, their preseason finale, so Thursday is the first half of a back-to-back, and their regular-season opener is Wednesday, Oct. 21, at home against the Chicago Bulls.

Thunder at Rockets: Houston’s first home game

Houston has played only twice this preseason, both against the Dallas Mavericks at the Venetian Arena in Macau as part of the NBA China Games. The Rockets won the first game 135-117, with Tari Eason scoring 20 and Alperen Sengun posting 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 22 minutes, then lost the second 132-115, when Marcus Smart led them with 20.

Kevin Durant, Sengun, Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams were all listed day-to-day heading into Thursday, Durant for a non-injury reason and the other three for rest, and the team had not confirmed who will play. Thursday is the Rockets’ last exhibition before they open at home against Dallas on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Oklahoma City arrives off a 114-112 overtime win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, when Jared McCain scored 20 points. The open question for the Thunder is whether first-round rookies Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz play their way into the regular-season rotation. Coach Mark Daigneault would not lock either in after Tuesday’s game: “It’s fluid night to night, so it’s not something that you lock into or are completely out of. But I trust those two guys.”

Chet Holmgren (quadriceps), Jaylin Williams (heel), Thomas Sorber (knee) and Otega Oweh (lower leg) were listed day-to-day for Oklahoma City. The Thunder open the regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at San Antonio.

The last regular-season meeting between these teams went to Houston, 112-106 on Feb. 7, 2026.

What comes next

Friday, Oct. 16 has a 12-game preseason slate, the last full night of exhibitions, and the regular season tips off on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Every game, with tip times and TV, is on the WhyNBA schedule page.