Timberwolves at Thunder
THE STORY: The Oklahoma City Thunder own the best record in the
Western Conference, but they have been unable to string together
back-to-back victories in their last eight games. Coming off a 23-point
rout of the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, the Thunder have a good
chance to end that drought Friday against the visiting Minnesota
Timberwolves. Oklahoma City has dominated the series, beating the
Timberwolves 10 consecutive times.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS North (Timberwolves), FS Oklahoma (Thunder)
ABOUT
THE TIMBERWOLVES (23-25): Minnesota has lost four of six as it reaches
the final stop of a seven-road road trip at Oklahoma City. Center Nikola
Pekovic, who is second on the team in scoring and rebounding, was sent
home to allow his ailing ankles to heal, and backup forward Michael
Beasley is unlikely to play Friday because of a sprained big toe. Kevin
Love had 17 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday’s loss at San Antonio.
It marked his league-leading 40th double-double.
ABOUT THE
THUNDER (35-12): Kevin Durant erupted for 32 points in Oklahoma City’s
114-91 romp over the Clippers. It was Durant’s first 30-point
performance in eight games – only the second time this season he went
more than seven games without scoring 30. Forward Serge Ibaka, who leads
the league in blocked shots (3.3 per game), has been solid at both ends
of the floor in his last four games, averaging 12.0 points, 9.5
rebounds and 4.3 blocks. Derek Fisher scored five points in his Thunder
debut.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Thunder’s 10-game winning
streak against Minnesota is their longest against any team since beating
Golden State 14 straight when they were still in Seattle.
2. The Timberwolves have dropped to 11th in the Western Conference, three games behind Houston for the final playoff slot.
3. Thunder guard Daequan Cook is expected to be out 2-to-3 weeks with a sprained right knee.