Knicks at Thunder
Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder look to bounce back from a porous performance when they host the New York Knicks on Wednesday. Westbrook tallied just 17 points in Monday's 120-98 loss to the Washington Wizards - a contest in which Oklahoma City missed a dubious NBA-record 24 consecutive shots at one point.
Westbrook recorded his second-lowest scoring output of the season and was just 5-of-19 from the field as the Thunder dropped their second straight game. "I mean, he's human. He can have a tough night," Thunder shooting guard Victor Oladipo said afterward. "But the rest of us -- we've got to step up and play." New York defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 on Sunday to halt a four-game losing streak and is aiming to win back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 20-22. The Knicks are just 7-20 since that point and the franchise has been plagued by tension, including president Phil Jackson taking shots at forward Carmelo Anthony and owner James Dolan having former New York star Charles Oakley removed from the arena, leading to Oakley's arrest on assault charges.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, MSG (New York), FSN Oklahoma
ABOUT THE KNICKS (23-33): Anthony remains the subject of numerous trade rumors prior to the Feb. 23 deadline and he is looking forward to the All-Star break. There is a possibility Anthony could be asked to join the Eastern Conference team for Sunday's game if Cleveland's Kevin Love has to withdraw due to a knee injury, but he indicated that a mental break away from basketball packs more value for him. "I would love to take this break and just utilize this break and my body and my mind and just get away from everything," Anthony said. "I could utilize this break. If they call me I'd consider it but I would love to utilize this break."
ABOUT THE THUNDER (31-25): Oklahoma City put a lot of effort into Saturday's contest against Golden State when former star Kevin Durant returned to town and didn't seem to have much energy remaining for the Wizards. The Thunder trailed by as many as 34 points, shot 35.4 percent from the field and allowed 101 points over the first three quarters. "I think as a player, that's the hardest part when you play 82 games," Oklahoma City Thunder coach Billy Donovan said after the loss to Washington. "Can you come back and really be focused and locked in and play at that emotional level that you're capable of? We were not there. I certainly have seen us there before, but (Monday) was not a night that I felt was there."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Westbrook posted 27 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists as the Thunder registered a 112-103 victory over the Knicks on Nov. 28.
2. Oklahoma City PF Domantas Sabonis is 12-for-48 shooting in seven games this month and hasn't reached double digits in any of them.
3. New York C Joakim Noah (hamstring) will likely miss his fifth straight game.