Thunder at Nuggets
The Oklahoma City Thunder hit a bump in what's been a torrid stretch and
attempt to get back on track when they visit the Denver Nuggets on
Tuesday. Oklahoma City dropped a 118-110 decision to the Houston Rockets
in the opener of a four-game trip and it marked only the second loss in
11 games for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City has lost a league-high 13 games in which it has led in the fourth quarter and All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook is tired of hearing about the topic, especially since Oklahoma City's lead was just two points entering the stanza against Houston. "I don't agree with us 'losing the lead' if we're up two points going into the fourth quarter because, to me, that's not losing the lead," Westbrook told reporters. "To me, that doesn't make any sense. I think we've been doing a good job of playing well and closing out games, so I'm not worried about that." The Thunder finish the road trip with games in Portland and Sacramento and later close the season with a visit to San Antonio. Denver has lost four of its last five games after falling 115-106 to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday to finish 0-3 against the Kings this season.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Oklahoma, Altitude 2 (Denver)
ABOUT THE THUNDER (53-24): All-Star small forward Kevin Durant has raised his streak of consecutive 20-point outings to 61, the best streak since Kobe Bryant of the Lakers ripped off 63 straight during the 2005-06 campaign. Durant also thrives against Denver as he has strung together 25 straight 20-point games against the Nuggets, including the playoffs. Durant had 33 points in the loss to Houston for his fourth straight 30-point performance.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (32-46): Small forward Danilo Gallinari said he won't play again this season as he recovers from an ankle injury suffered on Feb. 26. That means Gallinari, who averaged a team-best 19.5 points, will miss the final 23 games and 29 overall in what once a promising season for him. "Very disappointing," Gallinari told reporters. "But that's the way it is. We're not fighting for anything right now."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Thunder are 3-0 against the Nuggets this season and have won the past five meetings.
2. Denver SF Will Barton is 0-for-17 from the field - including nine 3-point misses - over the past two games.
3. Oklahoma City backup C Enes Kanter is 18-of-25 shooting over the past three games.