Thunder at Kings
The top two scorers for the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Sacramento Kings haven't faced off in two previous meetings this season and they'll be looking for bounce-back games when the teams meet Wednesday in Sacramento. The high-scoring Oklahoma City duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined to shoot 8-for-37 in a blowout loss Monday against the Golden State Warriors. A night earlier, DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay shot 10-for-33 in a 19-point setback to the Detroit Pistons.
It’s unclear if Dion Waiters will play for the Thunder after he was traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. He’s expected to provide Oklahoma City another scoring option outside of Durant and Westbrook, who account for more than half of the Thunder’s points. The Kings weren’t able to win two in a row in December, even after Cousins, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, returned Dec. 18 after a 10-game absence due to viral meningitis.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CSN California (Sacramento), FSN Oklahoma (Oklahoma City)
ABOUT THE THUNDER (17-18): As the trade involving Waiters was going down Monday, Thunder backup point guard Reggie Jackson was reportedly part of the deal, but the three-team swap ultimately went through with Oklahoma City only parting ways with seldom-used backup small forward Lance Thomas. Jackson reached double figures in his first 16 games this season but has seen his usage and productivity decline over the last month, finishing in single digits in eight of the last 13 games, including the last two. Now that he’s still part of the team, the Thunder, look for Jackson to get back to his old ways.
ABOUT THE KINGS (14-20): Cousins still seems to be dealing with some weakness as he has been held below his 23.5 scoring average the last three games. The Kings need him to be at his best as they haven’t defeated a team with a winning record as of Tuesday since beating the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 20. Gay will look to repeat his effort against Oklahoma City two months ago, when he finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a 101-93 loss to Oklahoma City, which was without Durant and Westbrook due to injuries.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The combined 21.6-percent shooting by Durant and Westbrook in Monday’s loss was their second-worst shooting percentage together.
2. The Kings are 3-7 since Michael Malone was fired as coach.
3. Sacramento PG Darren Collison is shooting 63.3 percent from the floor in the last five games.