Thunder at Hornets
Kemba Walker is one of the few players capable of putting together a competent Russell Westbrook impression, but not even some big numbers in the boxscore could pull the Charlotte Hornets to a win in the last two games. Walker will try to get the better of Westbrook when the Hornets host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
Walker averaged 35.5 points on 26-of-41 shooting, including 9-of-16 from beyond the arc, in the last two games but Charlotte fell to Cleveland and Chicago, respectively, in those contests. Walker added a season-high 11 rebounds on Monday but could not stop Jimmy Butler in a 118-111 loss to the Bulls, after which coach Steve Clifford called his defense "soft." Westbrook leads the NBA in scoring (30.5 points) and is still averaging a triple-double (10.5 assists, 10.4 rebounds) but endured a terrible shooting night while going 9-of-28 from the floor and 2-of-10 from beyond the arc in a 98-94 lost at Milwaukee on Monday. The Thunder go as Westbrook goes, and he is shooting 39.2 percent from the floor in losses and 45.2 percent in wins.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Oklahoma, FSN Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE THUNDER (21-14): Oklahoma City's advantages are in the backcourt with Westbrook and at the center spot, where Steven Adams and Enes Kanter share minutes. Adams went 9-of-11 from the floor on Monday but Kanter failed to hold up his end and slumped to two points on 1-of-6 shooting. Kanter averaged 20.2 points on 60.3 percent shooting in the previous five games and is third on the team in scoring (13.4 points) behind Westbrook and shooting guard Victor Oladipo.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (19-16): Charlotte can throw quickness (Walker, Ramon Sessions) and length (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Jeremy Lamb, Nicolas Batum) at Westbrook defensively, but the combination of those players was not enough to stop Butler from scoring 52 points on Monday. The Hornets are in the top 10 in the NBA in field-goal percentage defense (44.6 percent) but allowed the Cavaliers to shoot 50.6 percent in Saturday's loss before getting torched by Butler. The bright spot was Lamb, who went 7-of-12 from the field in those two games and scored in double figures in four of the last five.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hornets C Cody Zeller (concussion) is in the league's protocol and is day-to-day.
2. Oladipo is averaging 16.5 points in two games since returning from a wrist injury.
3. Oklahoma City is enjoying a 10-game winning streak in the series.