Kings at Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder appear to have a lock on second place in the Western Conference standings, but don’t expect them to play on cruise control when they host the struggling Sacramento Kings on Friday night. Thunder guard Russell Westbrook still needs to build some stamina after missing time with a knee injury and NBA leading scorer Kevin Durant only seems to know one speed to play and that has resulted in a 36-game scoring streak of at least 25 points. Durant is four games from matching Michael Jordan’s record run set during the 1986-87 season.
The Kings will be in much better position to stay with the Thunder if point guard Isaiah Thomas can play. Thomas, who scored his career-high of 38 points when these teams last met Jan. 19 in Oklahoma City, missed Wednesday’s loss to the visiting New York Knicks with a deep thigh bruise. The Thunder still beat Sacramento by 15 points that night and did so without the services of Westbrook.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, News10 (Sacramento), Fox Sports Oklahoma
ABOUT THE KINGS (25-46): DeMarcus Cousins is coming off back-to-back games with 32 points and has recorded double-doubles in his past eight games. The Thunder aren’t expecting injured center Kendrick Perkins back until next week, so Cousins will get a chance to pound away at rookie center Steven Adams, at least at the start of the game, and will then likely enjoy a size advantage over veteran Nick Collison. Cousins missed the first meeting against the Thunder with a knee injury then finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds in the January game while matched up with Perkins.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (52-19): Westbrook hasn’t played in two straight games since March 11 and 13, so it’s possible he could rest his surgically repaired knee against the Kings. He suffered a scare in last Friday’s game against the Toronto Raptors and sat out Monday’s win against the visiting Denver Nuggets before coming back with 23 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in Tuesday’s victory against the Dallas Mavericks. Reggie Jackson has been solid as Westbrook’s replacement and may prove to be a better defensive matchup against Thomas.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson are the other two NBA players who have scored at least 25 points in 36 games straight games.
2. Durant has an NBA-leading 43 games with 30 or more points with LeBron James second at 26.
3. The Kings have yet to win a game in Oklahoma City.