Thunder at Mavericks
Russell Westbrook and Oklahoma City will get their first look at Rajon Rondo in a Dallas uniform when the Thunder visit the Mavericks on Sunday. Westbrook continued his personal assault on the NBA, scoring 29 points in just 25 minutes in Friday's 98-75 pounding of Charlotte. Rondo had a season-high 21 points, along with eight rebounds and seven assists as Dallas snapped a two-game losing streak Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Oklahoma City beat San Antonio 114-106 on Christmas night and still had some intensity left to hold Charlotte to 28.7 percent shooting from the floor. "We talk about playing a defensive brand every night and in back-to-back games to come back with a defensive effort for 48 minutes," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "I'm really proud of our effort. I thought that set the tone." The defense yields the fewest points in the NBA (95.5) and is second in field-goal percentage defense (42.4).
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE THUNDER (15-16): Serge Ibaka collected 13 points, a season-high 14 rebounds and four blocked shots against the Hornets as star Kevin Durant (ankle) sat for the fifth straight game. Westbrook has scored at least 25 points in a career-high 11 straight games - the longest streak in the NBA this season. A win could get Oklahoma City to the elusive .500 mark for the first time this season.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (21-10): Rondo entered Friday shooting 40 percent from the floor but shot 10-of-17 against the Lakers. The Mavericks average a league-best 109.4 points and shoot 47.8 percent from the floor - second-best in the league. Monta Ellis, who played with an unspecified illness against Los Angeles, has connected on just 19-of-51 shots in his last three games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Dirk Nowitzki (27,322) scored 14 against the Lakers to surpass Elvin Hayes for eighth all-time on the NBA scoring list and is 88 points shy of Moses Malone for seventh.
2. Durant holds the record with 41 straight games of 25 points or more.
3. The Thunder are 5-2 against the Mavericks the last two seasons.