Thunder at Cavaliers
What was shaping up as a fantastic duel between two of the league's best point guards may now be a battle of the backups as the Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night. The Thunder are considering whether to rest superstar Russell Westbrook in Cleveland, or sit him for Friday's game in Toronto instead. The Cavaliers already know they'll be without guard Kyrie Irving for Thursday's game as he continues to nurse a biceps injury.
With Westbrook questionable and Irving on the shelf, the focus shifts to Cleveland's ability to be competitive against superior competition for the second game in a row. The undermanned Cavaliers fought gamely Tuesday night against two-time defending-champion Miami, but fell victim to LeBron James' 43 points in a 100-96 defeat. The Thunder rode a 35-point, 12-rebound explosion from Kevin Durant to an impressive 97-85 triumph against host Chicago on Monday and are two games behind San Antonio in the Western Conference race.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE THUNDER (49-18): Durant is already a multi-time NBA scoring champion, and has scored at least 25 points in 32 straight games - the second-longest streak in NBA history (behind only Michael Jordan's 40). But has made it clear on several occasions that individual accolades won't satiate him - his ultimate goal is an NBA championship. "I'm just going out there and playing to win," he said in a television interview following the win over the Bulls. "I want to be mentioned with (Jordan) along with some other things, not just my 25-point streak."
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (26-42): Cleveland was forced to get creative in its game against visiting Miami, with both Irving and starting small forward Luol Deng (ankle sprain) out of commission. Primary ball-handling duties were handed to enigmatic guard Dion Waiters, who recorded a career-high 11 assists but also had six turnovers and was battered and beaten by Miami to the point where he hobbled off the court after the loss. Deng, who ranks third on the team in scoring at 14.8 points, is expected to be a game-time decision for Thursday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Cleveland has won back-to-back meetings, averaging 114.5 points in those victories.
2. Durant averages 25.3 points in 12 career games versus the Cavaliers.
3. The Cavaliers are looking to avoid their first four-game home losing streak of the season.