Tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN the Oklahoma City Thunder (28-10) and Houston Rockets (26-14) will tip off following the Knicks vs. Pacers matchup, serving as the back end of an NBA double-header. Live stream the game here for free; Thunder fans can listen to the game on WWLS 98.1, while Rockets fans can tune in to the radio broadcast on KBME Sports Talk 790.
The Thunder have hit a bit of a rough patch in their season without point guard Russell Westbrook available; Kevin Durant has upped his prodigious scoring to 29.8 points per game, but Oklahoma City has had some defensive troubles sink them.
"We talk about that with the group all the time. It's connected," coach Scott Brooks said. "Bad defense leads to bad offense. You have to be able to be good at both of them if you want to be a good team in this league. We strive to be a good team and a consistent team."
They were bashed in the paint by Memphis' bigs in their most recent game, a 90-87 loss. They'll need to shore up the interior defense before Rockets center Dwight Howard eviscerates them as well. He had 12 points and 11 boards in a Wednesday victory over the Pelicans that included a late comeback.
"We have to play the same way every night, and we didn't bring that effort in the beginning," Howard said. "We picked it up late in the game, but we have to really start games better."
The Rockets will also be looking for shooting guard James Harden, Oklahoma City's former Sixth Man, to improve on a 2-of-9 performance the last time these two squads squared off. Harden is just 1-3 in his career vs. the Thunder, but he dropped 46 points in the sole win.
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