Thunder at Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are losers of five straight and 10 of their last 11, and things don’t appear to be getting much easier. The Nets will try to avoid falling to 0-3 on their four-game homestand when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
Brooklyn managed an average of 82 points in going down quietly to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Utah Jazz in the first two games of the homestand and have another winning team in Miami set to visit on Tuesday before closing the month with a pair of road games. The Jazz rank among the bottom quarter of all NBA team in scoring average but had no trouble shooting 57.3 percent from the floor in Friday’s 108-86 win over the Nets. The Thunder are a decidedly better offensive club, featuring a pair of All-Stars in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and have won seven straight and 22 of the last 26 games. Oklahoma City was looking forward to its four-game road trip and started things off by squeezing out a 109-106 victory at Dallas on Friday.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, FSN Oklahoma, YES (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE THUNDER (33-12): Oklahoma City is preparing itself for a long playoff run this spring and saw the four-game trip as an opportunity to bring the team closer together. “They played together and played for each other,” coach Billy Donovan told reporters after Friday’s win. “That was encouraging to see, because on the road you’re going to have to play together and stick together. Adversity is going to come in one form or another. Whatever it is, you have to be able to handle it collectively.” The Thunder received “only” a combined 40 points from Durant and Westbrook on Friday but got plenty of help with four other scorers reaching double figures.
ABOUT THE NETS (11-33): Brooklyn was outscored 63-34 in the second and third quarters of Friday’s game after a decent start. “They made shots and we didn't,” forward Thaddeus Young told reporters. “It's the same song and story as it's been the last couple of games - we get off to good starts, we have good first halves, then in the second half the game just slips away from us.” Point guards Donald Sloan and Shane Larkin combined for four points on 1-of-9 shooting in Friday’s loss.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Thunder C Steven Adams (elbow strain) sat out Friday and is day-to-day.
2. Nets G/F Joe Johnson is 18-of-29 from 3-point range in the last eight games.
3. Westbrook and Durant combined for 57 points, 18 assists and 12 rebounds in a 110-99 home win over Brooklyn on Nov. 25.