Pistons at Thunder
THE STORY: A road-heavy January schedule did little to slow down the Oklahoma City Thunder. They head back to the Sooner State with the best record in the Western Conference as they open a two-game mini-homestand Monday against the Detroit Pistons. The Thunder completed a stretch of five out of six road games with a 5-1 record, capped by a hard-fought 84-74 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Saturday. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook come in as one of the highest-scoring tandems in the league, averaging better than 46 points per game combined. With James Harden (16.3) looking strong as the third option, the Thunder own the league's fourth most prolific offense at just under 100 points per night. They'll entertain a Pistons team that has had few reasons to celebrate this season. One of those rare moments came in their last game, when Detroit stunned visiting Portland 94-91 for only its fourth win of the season. The Pistons possess one of the most anemic offenses in the NBA, averaging just over 85 points.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, FS Oklahoma
ABOUT THE PISTONS (4-13): Detroit's backcourt of Rodney Stuckey and Brandon Knight gave the team a much-needed lift Saturday, scoring 42 points against the Trail Blazers. Stuckey is dealing with a nagging groin injury that will likely require extra moments of rest throughout the season. He spent Friday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies on the sidelines and is expected to miss a few more games throughout the year. The 25-year-old is third on the club at 12.7 points per game.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (13-3): Oklahoma City doesn't have many weaknesses, but could stand to tighten a defense that ranks in the middle of the pack in points allowed. The Thunder didn't have any problems on the defensive end against New Jersey - holding the Nets to 31 percent shooting - but have surrendered more than 100 points four times already this season. One area the defense has excelled is on guarding against the 3-pointer - opponents are shooting only 28.7 percent from beyond the arc.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Thunder have won the last five head-to-head meetings. Detroit's last win in the series came on Dec. 26, 2008.
2. Durant averages 25.4 points and 7.8 rebounds in eight career games against Detroit.