Spurs at Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are trying to hold on to the final playoff
spot in the Western Conference as they entertain the visiting San
Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. Oklahoma City has suffered three straight
defeats and stands just a half-game ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans
with five games remaining.
San Antonio has posted seven consecutive victories and 17 in the last 20 games and is in sixth place in the West while trailing the fifth-place Los Angeles Clippers by a half-game. The Spurs drubbed the Thunder 130-91 on March 25 when they shot 58 percent from the field and made 13-of-21 from 3-point range. Oklahoma City can’t afford too many stumbles if it expects to hold off the Pelicans and coach Scott Brooks grasps the situation. “Every night has playoff implications but that’s been our mentality for seven years now,” Brooks told reporters. “You treat every game the same, you focus on every game and pay attention to detail.”
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, FSN Oklahoma City (Oklahoma)
ABOUT THE SPURS (51-26): San Antonio’s 39-point beat down of Oklahoma City was the beginning of the seven-game winning streak that has seen each game decided by double digits. The Spurs have an average victory margin of 20.3 points during the stretch with the most recent win being Sunday’s 107-92 decision over the Golden State Warriors. Small forward Kawhi Leonard has been a standout with 20 or more points in four of the last five games and he tied his career high of 26 points against Golden State while recording a career-best seven steals.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (42-35): Backup guard Anthony Morrow has made six 3-pointers in two of the past three games and is averaging 22.3 points during the stretch. “He’s obviously on fire from 3-point range,” Brooks told reporters. “He gives you effort every night, he competes on both ends, that’s what you have to do. He’s making his 3s and Russell (Westbrook) and our guys are finding him.” Morrow’s sharpshooting on the perimeter has helped soften the loss of Kevin Durant for the season and he has scored in double digits in 13 of the past 14 games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. San Antonio has dropped its last four regular-season visits to Oklahoma City.
2. Westbrook scored 40 points in Sunday’s loss to Houston and is averaging 31.8 points over the last five contests.
3. Spurs SG Danny Green is averaging 19.5 points over the last two games while making 10-of-12 3-point attempts.