Celtics at Thunder
Russell Westbrook needs one more triple-double to reach eight in a row and pass Michael Jordan, but the Oklahoma City Thunder would prefer a return to the win column. Westbrook will try to drag the Thunder to their seventh win in eight games when they host the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
Westbrook is the first player since Jordan in 1989 to record seven triple-doubles in a row, but his tying 3-point attempt in the final seconds was off the mark on Friday as Oklahoma City had a six-game winning streak come to an end in a 102-99 home loss to Houston. "I missed a lot of easy shots, man. Honestly, brother," Westbrook told reporters. "I haven't made no shots in the last month. So, just gotta get my mind right." The Celtics missed plenty of shots while shooting 37.3 percent from the floor in a 101-94 home loss to Toronto on Friday. "We still have a ways to go," Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters. "We've talked about it many times. If we play well against anyone in this league, then we have a chance to win. If we don't play well, we'll lose. That's just the way it is."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), FSN Oklahoma
ABOUT THE CELTICS (13-10): Boston was without leading scorer Isaiah Thomas due to a groin injury and expects to be without the All-Star again on Sunday. The Celtics are leaning more on center Al Horford, who is adding play-making to his game this season. "One of the things is that coach allows our bigs to handle the ball a lot," Horford told reporters. "He puts us in position to make plays. And for me, I'm a team guy, I always try to make the game easy and just make the right play. That's always my approach."
ABOUT THE THUNDER (14-9): Westbrook collected 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on Friday but went 8-of-25 from the floor and turned the ball over eight times. The last time Westbrook hit 50 percent or better from the floor in a game was Nov. 18, when he went 13-of-21 in a 124-105 won over the struggling Brooklyn Nets, and he is averaging 6.6 turnovers during his triple-double streak. "The difference in the game was the fact that we turned it over (18) times and the number of points they scored off our turnovers (29)," Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan told reporters after Friday's setback.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Thunder C Steven Adams scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-9 shooting and 8-of-9 from the line on Friday.
2. Celtics G Avery Bradley is 31-of-57 from the floor in the last four games.
3. The teams split the two-game series last season, with Boston earning a 100-85 win at Oklahoma City.