Nets at Thunder
Kevin Durant was stellar in his return from a hamstring injury and aims
for another strong showing when the Oklahoma City Thunder host the
Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. Durant missed six games with the ailment but
showed no signs of rust by scoring 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting in
Monday's easy 111-89 win over the Utah Jazz.
Durant was injured on Nov. 10 against the Washington Wizards and he was happy to provide a lift after the Thunder went 3-3 without him. "When I was ready to get back on the court physically, I was there putting my work in making sure my body was ready, my fundamentals were right," Durant said afterward. "I just have the mindset that, no matter what, I just pick up where I left off. I think that is what separates good players from great players, is that mindset." Brooklyn has the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference and is a woeful 1-8 on the road. The Nets are averaging 103 points over their last seven games - they averaged 90.4 over their first seven - and recorded a wire-to-wire 111-101 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FSN Oklahoma (Oklahoma City)
ABOUT THE NETS (3-11): Rookie guard Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has become a fixture in the starting lineup due to a tenacious style that revolves around defense and rebounding. The 6-foot-7 Hollis-Jefferson shot the ball just three times in Sunday's game and ended up with nine points, seven rebounds and a season-best five steals. He has scored in double figures just twice - he's averaging five points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals - but has three double-digit rebounding efforts and four games of three or more steals.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (9-6): Durant is averaging 28 points and 7.1 rebounds and should be full-go moving forward after first-year coach Billy Donovan took the cautious approach to his injury. "The last thing you want with a hamstring injury is for it to be a prolonged thing to deal with," Donovan told reporters. "The feeling was, so early in the season, let's just get him completely recovered and feeling good. The medical staff really feels like he has made incredible progress. He's pain free, feels good." Point guard Russell Westbrook averaged 32.7 points during Durant's absence and scored 20 against Utah for his 14th 20-point outing of the season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. A victory would make the Nets only the second road team to win four straight games in Oklahoma City - the San Antonio Spurs are the other (2009-10).
2. Oklahoma City backup SG Anthony Morrow is averaging 14.5 points on 11-of-17 shooting over the past two games.
3. Brooklyn F Thaddeus Young has four double-doubles over the past five games and is averaging 18.8 points and 10.2 rebounds during the stretch.