Thunder at Trail Blazers
Two of the league's best teams square off in Portland on Tuesday when the Oklahoma City Thunder come to town for a tilt with the Trail Blazers. Oklahoma City wraps up play before the All-Star break with two road games and though NBA leading scorer Kevin Durant will be the Thunder's lone representative at All-Star Weekend, the team is right where it wants to be heading into the break. "My team is still winning," All-Star snub Serge Ibaka told The Oklahoman. "Every time we win, it's making me dream big."
Portland is just 3-4 following a 7-2 stretch in January but the Blazers remain in the mix for the top spot in the Western Conference, sitting in third place and trailing Oklahoma City by four games. By getting by a lift from its bench - led by a career best 19 points from rookie C.J. McCollum against a Minnesota squad without its top weapons in Kevin Love and Kevin Martin on Saturday, Portland coach Terry Stotts has his squad fresh for a pair of tests this week against the Thunder and the Los Angeles Clippers. "We were really counting on our bench tonight because I really wanted to rest the starters," Stotts told The Oregonian.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Oklahoma, CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE THUNDER (41-12): Durant's monster season continued against the Knicks on Sunday, as he fell just a single assist shy of his third triple-double of the season, finishing with a game-high 41 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. "It would have been cool to stay in," Durant told reporters of coach Scott Brooks' decision to pull him with 1:24 to play. "But whatever. We won the basketball game. That's all that matters."
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (36-15): Led by LaMarcus Aldridge's 24.1 points per game, all five starters for Portland average double figures, so a show like the one McCollum put on Saturday serves as an encouraging sign in terms of depth. "I feel more comfortable and confident every game," said the rookie, who also totaled a career-high 28 minutes. "(Against Minnesota), we showed that, when necessary, (Portland's reserves) can score and do some different things. It's just a product of opportunity."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Portland is 8-2 in its last 10 meetings with Oklahoma City, including a 2-1 mark this season.
2. Thunder PG Russell Westbrook (knee) remains at least 10 days away from a return to the lineup after missing the last 25 games.
3. Durant came within a single assist of becoming the eighth player since the 1985-86 season to score at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a game - a list that includes Michael Adams, Larry Bird, Vince Carter, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Tracy McGrady and Chris Webber.