Thunder at Jazz
The Oklahoma City Thunder are thriving away from home and look to corral their ninth consecutive road victory when they visit the Utah Jazz on Tuesday. Oklahoma City hasn’t fallen on the road since a Dec. 4 game in Portland, and five of the eight victories in the streak have been by double digits. The last time the franchise had a longer road winning streak is when they won 10 straight as the Seattle SuperSonics during the 1994-95 campaign.
Utah is beginning a three-game homestand but is a meager 6-10 on the home floor. The Jazz have won their last three in Salt Lake City but the wins were over the mediocre trio of the Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Bobcats and Milwaukee Bucks. Thunder forward Kevin Durant is averaging 30.5 points in two victories over Utah this season but is shooting just 36.4 percent from the field. Last season, the superstar shot 61.5 percent in four games against the Jazz.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Oklahoma, ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE THUNDER (27-7): Reggie Jackson scored a career-high 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the victory over Boston and he will have a significant role while star point guard Russell Westbrook recovers from another knee surgery. Jackson is still developing as a playmaker but there are no issues with his ability to score (12.8 average) and he doesn’t shy away from the expectations. “I’m cool with it,” Jackson said after the win over the Celtics. “I put a lot on myself and I expect big things from myself.”
ABOUT THE JAZZ (11-25): Small forward Richard Jefferson is averaging 10 points while starting every game and his name is being bounced around as a possible trade target. The Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to unload unhappy center Andrew Bynum and Jefferson’s name emerged as a possibility because a deal in which Utah acquires Bynum and immediately waives him saves the team an estimated $6 million. “If it does happen, I appreciate the opportunity from Utah and then you move on,” Jefferson told the Salt Lake Tribune. “If it doesn’t, I’m going to keep doing my best to play good basketball for Utah.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Oklahoma City went 3-1 against Utah last season with the lone defeat coming on the Jazz’s home floor.
2. Utah G Gordon Hayward has scored 22 points in each of the past two games and tallying just nine in each of the previous two.
3. Thunder F Serge Ibaka had 17 points and 11 rebounds against Boston for his 15th double-double of the campaign.