Wizards at Thunder
Russell Westbrook and the surging Oklahoma City Thunder put a variety of winning streaks on the line when they host the Washington Wizards on Monday. Westbrook stayed red-hot with his sixth triple-double of the season (26 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds) in a 116-108 win over Houston on Friday.
The Thunder have won three in a row, six straight at home and six consecutive over the Wizards at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Washington also is coming off a win over the Rockets, surviving a 123-122 affair in Houston on Saturday, when John Wall flirted with a triple-double of his own with 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Due to a postponement because of Winter Storm Jonas and a three-game losing streak, it was the Wizards' first victory in a span of 10 days. Westbrook's first triple-double of the season came at Washington in a 125-101 win on Nov. 10, while Wall was limited to nine points on 4-of-13 shooting in a one-sided matchup between the star point guards.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), FSN Oklahoma
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (21-24): While Wall led the way against Houston, Washington put forth an incredibly balanced attack with eight players scoring between 10 and 19 points. The bench had four of those double-digit scorers and combined for 55 points on 20-of-29 shooting. The Wizards possess eight players averaging at least 8.5 points after just five got to that mark last season.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (36-13): Westbrook is making a push toward his first campaign with an assist average of 10 or more, bumping his number to 9.9 after the 14 helpers versus Houston. "It's part of my job, man," Westbrook told reporters. "Just trying to find guys, getting the ball where they can score, keep the pace up." The Thunder have won their last eight games in which Westbrook handed out at least 10 assists, and fellow superstar Kevin Durant is averaging 29.4 points in those affairs.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Oklahoma City C Enes Kanter is averaging 22.5 points and 10 rebounds in 24.5 minutes over the last two games.
2. Wall is averaging 15.3 points in nine career contests against Oklahoma City - his lowest mark against a Western Conference opponent - while shooting 31.5 percent, lower than against any NBA foe.
3. Thunder SG Dion Waiters is averaging 15.3 points in three starts since taking over for the injured Andre Roberson.