Thunder at Rockets
The Oklahoma City Thunder made a statement and kept themselves in the race for the top spot in the Western Conference by knocking off the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday. The Thunder will attempt to carry that momentum into the second night of a back-to-back when they visit the Houston Rockets on Friday. Oklahoma City has been keeping Russell Westbrook (knee) out of back-to-backs and does not expect to play him Friday.
The Thunder still will have Kevin Durant, who is aiming to tie Michael Jordan with his 40th straight outing of 25 or more points. Jordan is the only person in the last 50 years with at least that many consecutive 25-point outings, accomplishing the feat in the 1986-87 season. The Rockets, who have dropped three straight, have a few players of their own that are capable of putting up gaudy point totals and might perform better in this meeting with Westbrook and frequent antagonizer Patrick Beverley (knee) both due to watch from the bench.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, FSN Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), CSN Houston
ABOUT THE THUNDER (55-19): Oklahoma City came alive in the second half against San Antonio on Thursday. Durant scored 16 of his 28 after the break in the 106-94 win but did have one streak come to an end when he went 0-for-4 from 3-point range — the first time since March 2 he failed to connect from beyond the arc. The Thunder swept a three-game homestand but will play the next four and six of the final eight on the road as they attempt to close the gap on San Antonio, which leads the West by three games.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (49-25): Beverley is dealing with a torn meniscus — a similar injury to the one Westbrook suffered after being hit by Beverley in the playoffs last spring. The two were not shy about playing a physical game the last time the teams met, a 106-98 Thunder victory on March 11. Houston is also dealing with a nagging ankle injury to Dwight Howard as they try to hold off the Portland Trail Blazers for the No. 4 spot in the West. “All good teams have had their struggles,” James Harden told reporters after a 107-103 loss in Toronto on Wednesday. “Ours is coming late in the season and we’ve got to figure it out. All the top teams have been through a struggle like this.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Rockets F Terrence Jones (illness) sat out the loss at Brooklyn on Tuesday and was pulled early on Wednesday.
2. Oklahoma City C Kendrick Perkins (groin) returned to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 20 on Thursday and went scoreless in 12 minutes.
3. Howard remains questionable and Houston C Omer Asik has averaged 16.3 rebounds in the last three games while starting in his place.