Thunder at Nuggets
The Oklahoma City Thunder try for their seventh straight victory over Denver when they visit the Nuggets on Friday, and that task could become easier if the hosts do not have forward Danilo Gallinari for a second consecutive game. Gallinari, who averages team bests of 16.8 points and 36.2 minutes, missed Wednesday's 108-83 loss in Utah with a thigh injury and cannot exactly pinpoint what is wrong while not knowing when it occurred.
"It's just getting worse day by day,'' Gallinari told the Denver Post. "So we're just trying to figure out what it is. I don't know if it's a strain, a bruise, we don't know.'' Oklahoma City's losing streak stretched to three games with a 116-101 setback in Sacramento on Wednesday as its 6-1 start is a distant memory after seven defeats in its last nine contests. "It's not necessarily one player. We just got to keep working," Thunder coach Billy Donovan told reporters. "I think we got a great group of guys in the locker room that are trying and working. We just got to continually understand the importance of a lot of the little things in the course of 48 minutes." The Nuggets, meanwhile, have a budding superstar in rookie guard Jamal Murray, who has averaged 21.7 points in his last three games.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THUNDER (8-8): Russell Westbrook, who leads the NBA with 31.8 points per game, nearly recorded his sixth triple-double of the season Wednesday with 31 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, but he was frustrated with Oklahoma City's latest lackluster performance. "We've got to be ready to play. That's plain and simple. Figure it out," Westbrook told reporters. Guard Victor Oladipo is the next-highest scorer at 16.8 points - reaching double figures in all but two games this season - while centers Enes Kanter and Steven Adams average 11.9 and 10.6, respectively, with Kanter averaging 18.8 minutes compared to 31.8 for Adams.
ABOUT NUGGETS (6-9): Murray (9.9 points in 21.3 minutes) missed the first 17 field-goal attempts of his NBA career but wasn't too worried with a shooter's mentality. “It doesn’t take me long to get hot,” Murray, the seventh overall pick in the draft out of Kentucky, told the Denver Post. “I think every shot is going in, and if I miss, I don’t worry about it.” Point guard Emmanuel Mudiay (14.3 points, team-best 3.9 assists) scored eight points and is 2-of-15 over his last two games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Westbrook averages 22.5 points, 7.6 assists and 5.6 rebounds in 27 games versus Denver - almost identical to his career numbers of 21.7, 7.7 and 5.7.
2. Murray is shooting 46.7 percent at home compared to 36.2 on the road.
3. Denver last defeated Oklahoma City 107-100 on Nov. 19, 2014.