Raptors at Thunder
Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan are the two highest scorers in the NBA, but both cooled a bit after scalding starts. DeRozan will try to bounce back from a season-low 23 points on Sunday when the Toronto Raptors kick off a stretch with eight of 10 on the road by visiting Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
DeRozan, who set a franchise record for consecutive 30-point games with five to begin the season, slumped to 7-of-20 from the floor on Sunday and no one else on the team could pick up the slack in a 96-91 home loss to the Sacramento Kings. The Raptors need to find more balance with visits to five playoff teams in the next eight road games, and one of the two home games in the span is a visit from the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 16. The Thunder's lone loss in the first seven games came at Golden State last week, and the team responded to that defeat by locking down on the defensive end in wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat. “The most important thing was defense," Oklahoma City center Enes Kanter told reporters after a 97-85 win over Miami on Monday. "Everybody came out ready. The first unit, second unit, and everybody was ready and everybody was really focused."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Sportsnet One (Toronto), FSN Oklahoma
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (4-2): Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry is supposed to be the scoring compliment to DeRozan but is 9-of-31 from the floor in the last two games and is shooting 36.6 percent on the young season. "We have to shoot the ball better," Lowry told the Toronto Sun. "It’s not a concern but we have to find a way to make the shots. We have to shoot more and get in the gym and shoot even more, get extra shots up. But we’ll see what happens. Our confidence is there." Starting small forward DeMarre Carroll is struggling as well and is 3-of-17 from the floor in the last three contests.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (6-1): Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan goes into every game with an advantage in athleticism at the point guard spot with Westbrook but earns his money with his handling of center tandem Steven Adams and Kanter. Donovan starts Adams and uses him as the defensive anchor, with Adams recording six points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 29 minutes on Monday while setting crushing screens to open holes for Westbrook. Kanter comes off the bench and provides scoring punch for the second unit, managing 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes in the win over the Heat.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Thunder G Victor Oladipo is 19-of-31 from the field in the last three games, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range.
2. Raptors C Jonas Valanciunas (left knee contusion) sat out Sunday and is day-to-day.
3. The teams split two meetings last season, with Toronto earning a 103-98 win at Oklahoma City.