Coming off a pair of dramatic high-scoring games in which they won on the road, the Thunder open a three-game home-stand against the defense-optional Rockets on Friday. OKC has won five straight at home and boasts a 21-5 SU mark on its own floor.
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SCHEDULING
The return of Dwight Howard to the lineup didn’t help as the Rockets saw their modest three-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. After getting ripped 130-99 by the NBA’s second-best team, Houston completes its three-game road trip by visiting the league’s third-best team, Oklahoma City, for Friday’s showdown. The Rockets got their first win of the season by knocking off the Thunder 110-105 in Houston on Nov. 2, getting 37 points from James Harden.
A stumble in Brooklyn on Sunday is all that prevented the Thunder from completing a perfect four-game road trip. Like they’ve done for the past two months, the Thunder rebounded from that loss with a win. OKC hasn’t lost consecutive games since Dec. 3 and is 24-5 since then, building a commanding lead in the Northwest Division. The Thunder actually have a bigger division lead than both Golden State and San Antonio, the top two teams in the association. After a pair of dramatic wins against the Knicks in overtime and Minnesota to complete the road trip, the Thunder return home to begin a three-game stand starting with the Rockets. Washington and Orlando also visit Chesapeake Energy Arena where OKC is 21-5.
INJURIES
Oklahoma City guard Andre Roberson will be sidelined at least three weeks with a sprained right knee, an injury sustained during Sunday’s game against Brooklyn. Surgery is not required and Roberson will be evaluated in three weeks, so the possibility remains that he could miss up to a month. Also, backup point guard Cameron Payne left Wednesday’s game in Minnesota with concussion-like symptoms after getting hit in the head while defending a Zach Levine drive in the second quarter. He didn’t return for the second half and is day-to-day.
KEY MATCHUP
Following his 44-point explosion against the Knicks on Tuesday, Kevin Durant expanded his lead on an elite list. According to ESPN, since arriving in the league in the 2007-08 season, Durant has 45 40-point games, the most in the NBA in that span and seven more than runner-up LeBron James. It’s a crazy number considering Durant missed most of last season with his foot issues. Durant has missed a few games this season with various ailments, but for the most part he’s been healthy. And the Thunder are rolling because of it. He’s the league’s fourth-leading scorer at 27.0 points per game and has scored at least 21 points in all 14 games he’s played this month by shooting 49 percent from the floor. Durant has reached the 20-point mark in all but one of the 41 games he’s played this season and has two 40-point games. The only game in which Durant didn’t score 20 points was on Nov. 10 when he played just 17 minutes before injuring his hamstring and accumulated 14 points. He could be in line for a big night against a Rockets team that allowed 130 to the Spurs on Wednesday and is giving up 117.7 points per game over their last six.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
With all the talk being about the Warriors and Spurs in the Western Conference this season, Durant has warned folks not to forget about the Thunder. And as long as the dynamic duo of Durant and Russell Westbrook stay injury-free there’s no reason why OKC can’t be a contender. The Thunder have the largest division lead in the NBA and can seemingly score a will. They haven’t played much defense lately, but neither have the Rockets, so this could be a very high-scoring affair. Harden has had big games against his former team and dropped 37 on OKC in an early-season Rockets win. With wins in nine of their last 10 games, the Thunder are playing well and will outscore Houston on their home floor.
Oklahoma City 119, Houston 111
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