Pacers at Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder will be without Kevin Durant again on Tuesday but may not need him with Russell Westbrook playing at such a high level. Westbrook and his new teammates will try to keep rolling when the Thunder host the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday. The Pacers took advantage of one ailing Western Conference power by beating the Stephen Curry-less Golden State Warriors on Sunday and are fighting toward a playoff spot in the East.
Durant had a screw adjusted in his surgically-repaired right foot over the weekend and will be out at least a week. Oklahoma City was one of the more active teams in the league at Thursday’s trade deadline and Westbrook has spent the last two games without Durant getting to know his teammates while handing out a total of 27 assists to go along with 54 points in two wins. The Thunder have taken six straight overall to move into eighth in the West while the Pacers are winners of three in a row.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Indiana, FSN Oklahoma (Oklahoma City)
ABOUT THE PACERS (23-33): Indiana has been fighting to get out from under injuries all season and is finally down to only a couple of names on its injury report, though Paul George (leg) was always the biggest name on that list and remains out. The Pacers sit in a tight cluster of six teams fighting for the seventh and eight spots in the East and are carrying more momentum than anyone else in that group with wins in six of their seven games this month. Indiana fought off an early blitz from the Warriors on Sunday and worked its way to a 104-98 triumph behind 30 points off the bench from Rodney Stuckey.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (31-25): Oklahoma City is starting a pair of newcomers in center Enes Kanter and forward Kyle Singler, who is keeping Durant’s spot warn. Westbrook is taking it upon himself to make those guys feel welcome in the offense, and the Thunder have picked up the pace and are spreading the ball around to get everyone involved. “We were just pushing the ball and playing together,” another newcomer, guard D.J. Augustin, told reporters after a 119-94 win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. "It's fun and everybody is happy. We can score at a high volume when we're doing that. It's just playing defense, getting stops, getting rebounds and pushing it.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Thunder handed out a season-high 31 assists on Sunday, led by Westbrook’s career-high 17.
2. Stuckey has posted back-to-back 30-point efforts and is averaging 21.8 points on 60.3 percent shooting in the last five games.
3. Indiana is looking for its first win in Oklahoma City since a 117-99 triumph on Apr. 5, 2009.