Thunder at Jazz
The Oklahoma City Thunder are playing solid team basketball and look for
their fourth straight victory when they visit the Utah Jazz on Friday
in the first of two consecutive games between the teams. Oklahoma City
forward Kevin Durant posted his seventh career triple-double and point
guard Russell Westbrook had a double-double in Thursday's 107-94 victory
over the Atlanta Hawks.
Durant had 25 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists and Westbrook had 23 points and 10 assists against the Hawks — just the second time the two stars had at least 10 assists apiece in the same game. "I think it's contagious when your top guys do that," Durant told reporters. "Russell did a great job of setting the tone and I was able to be aggressive and make some plays." Utah is coming off a convincing 106-85 rout of the New York Knicks in a contest it led by as many as 32 points in the first half. The defensive effort Wednesday marks the seventh time this season the Jazz have held an opponent under 90 points.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE THUNDER (14-8): Oklahoma City is averaging 110 points per game during its three-game winning streak and Westbrook has recorded 10 or more assists in each of the contests. First-year coach Billy Donovan has been pushing for a more team-oriented approach and it paid off with a 37-point thrashing of the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday prior to the impressive win over the Hawks. "Both of those guys want to win," Donovan told reporters in reference to Durant and Westbrook. "They work too hard not to want to win. I think they understand that in order to do that they've got to make the people around them better. And that's what I think great players do. Great players to me make the people around them better."
ABOUT THE JAZZ (10-10): Small forward Gordon Hayward is enjoying his best stretch of the season and his 24-point effort against the Knicks marked the fourth time in five games he has scored 20 or more points. Hayward was 9-of-14 shooting against New York and made all four of his 3-point attempts and he is 14-of-26 from behind the arc during the past four games. "It sounds simple, but he's making the right reads and as a result he's playing with a lot of certainty about what he's doing," Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters. "It’s instinctive. I think that's why you're seeing him shoot the ball with such confidence."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Durant had 27 points as the Thunder rolled to a 111-89 road win over the Jazz on Nov. 23.
2. Utah SG Rodney Hood is in danger of drawing a one-game suspension after being ejected for a flagrant 2 foul in the win over the Knicks.
3. Oklahoma City PF Serge Ibaka scored a season-best 23 points Thursday and is 23-of-37 shooting during the past three games.