Hornets at Thunder
THE STORY: The New Orleans Hornets' reward for winning three in a row is to play a road game Monday against the best team in the Western Conference, which is coming off a historic performance. Oklahoma City's 124-118 victory in overtime over Denver on Sunday was highlighted by Kevin Durant's career-high 51 points, 40 points from Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka's triple-double. The Thunder became the first team in league history to have both a 50-point and 40-point scorer and another player record a triple-double.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CST (Hornets), FS Oklahoma (Thunder)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (7-23): It took the worst team in the West to put a stop to Linsanity. New Orleans defeated the Knicks 89-85 on Friday in Madison Square Garden. Swingman Trevor Ariza, plagued by injuries earlier in the season, continued his hot play with 25 points. He is averaging 16.3 points and is shooting 48.9 percent from the field in his last seven games.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (24-7): When Westbrook called Sunday's win an "epic game," he wasn't kidding. Durant eclipsed the 50-point mark for the first time in his career and forced overtime with a dunk late in regulation. Durant and Westbrook set an all-time franchise high with 91 combined points. Ibaka's big night consisted of 14 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocked shots for his first career triple-double.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Hornets broke an eight-game losing streak by beating Utah and followed that with wins over Milwaukee and New York.
2. Durant scored 25 points in the Thunder's 101-91 victory over New Orleans on Jan. 25. Oklahoma City has won six of the last seven in the series.
3. Oklahoma City is 12-1 at home, where it has won nine in a row. The Thunder's only home loss came on Jan. 3 against Portland.