Thunder at Suns
The Oklahoma City Thunder are winners of six of their last seven games and began the two-game road trip by earning a 120-100 victory at Sacramento on Wednesday. The Thunder will try to sweep the trip when they visit a confident Phoenix Suns' squad on Friday.
Oklahoma City had a five-game winning streak come to an end with a 107-97 loss at home to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday but looked like a different team on Wednesday, when it shot 50 percent from the floor and totaled 32 assists in breezing past the Kings. "We tried to make the right play all game long, making the right pass, hitting the extra guy and defending and staying together," Thunder point guard Chris Paul told reporters. The Suns had no trouble with the Mavericks on the road Tuesday, cruising to a 133-104 road victory behind big games from Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker. Phoenix shot 59.3 percent from the floor in the win and scored 48 points in the third quarter alone before breezing through the final frame.
TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: FS Oklahoma, FS Arizona
ABOUT THE THUNDER (29-20): Dennis Schroder scored a team-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting in Wednesday's win and is averaging 24.3 points while scoring at least 20 points in each of the last six contests. Schroder is 19-of-34 from beyond the arc over those six contests and knocked down three of the team's 15 3-pointers on Wednesday. Rookie shooting guard Luguentz Dort went 5-of-6 from 3-point range at Sacramento and finished with a season-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting to mark the first time he managed more than 10 points in an NBA game.
ABOUT THE SUNS (20-27): Ayton scored a season-high 31 points on 13-of-15 shooting and added nine rebounds on Tuesday, drawing praise from coaches and teammates for his effort. "I just thought he dominated the paint," Phoenix coach Monty Williams told reporters of Ayton. "He used his body. He used his strength, his athleticism. His jump hooks. His diving to the basket. He was generating offense for everyone else." Ayton's big game took some of the defensive heat off Booker, who responded with 32 points on 12-of-20 shooting to score 30 or more for the fifth time in the last six games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Suns SF Mikal Bridges hit his lone 3-point attempt on Tuesday after going 2-of-13 from beyond the arc over the last four contests.
2. Thunder C Nerlens Noel recorded a season-high four steals on Wednesday.
3. Oklahoma City owns a seven-game winning streak in the series, including a 126-108 triumph at home on Dec. 20.