Thunder at Hornets
THE STORY: Oklahoma City takes a four-game winning streak into New Orleans on Wednesday night. The Thunder's back-breaking schedule hasn't stopped them in the early portion of the season. Oklahoma City has four wins in the last five nights. “We didn’t let that hinder us, playing that many games in so many days,” said forward Kevin Durant, who scored 22 points in Tuesday's 100-95 win in Memphis. “We didn’t worry about it. We're a tough-minded team.” The Hornets ended a six-game losing streak with a 94-81 win in Denver on Monday, New Orleans' first victory since Dec. 28. Jarrett Jack, who is replacing Chris Paul at point guard, scored 13 points and had nine assists in 35 minutes despite playing with a sprained right foot. “I’ve been around him for five, six years and I’ve seen him miss only one game,” coach Monty Williams said. “He’s a tough kid. We don’t win this game without him.”
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), CST (New Orleans)
ABOUT THE THUNDER (8-2): Durant is averaging 27.5 points in 13 career games against the Hornets. He already has games of 47 and 43 points against New Orleans. Russell Westbrook paced Tuesday's win with 30 points, including 18 in the first half. He made 12 of 20 shots after missing all 13 attempts from the field in Memphis on Dec. 28. The Thunder haven't lost since dropping back-to-back games to Dallas and Portland last week.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (3-6): New Orleans hasn't had much to feel good about so far, but Monday's game was an exception. The Hornets shot 52 percent from the field. Chris Kaman, playing his best game since being acquired in the trade that sent Paul to the Clippers, scored 20 points and had seven rebounds. Carl Landry scored 21 points off the bench. New Orleans has yet to reach the 100-point mark this season.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Hornets forward Trevor Ariza (strained groin) missed his fourth consecutive game Monday.
2. Oklahoma City has won five of the last six games against New Orleans.
3. Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka have both recorded a blocked shot in all 11 games this season for the Thunder.