Tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET the Oklahoma City Thunder (42-12) will try to hand the Los Angeles Lakers (18-34) a franchise worst seventh consecutive home loss on TNT in Western Conference action that can be live streamed by clicking this link. Thunder fans can find the radio broadcast on WWLS 98.1, while L.A. fans can hear the game on 710 ESPN.
The Lakers woes can be largely blamed on their numerous injuries up and down the roster. "We just have to get through this period and get guys back after the All-Star break," head coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We'll have three or four guys back then, and that will help."
Five of Los Angeles' top six scorers this season are among the walking wounded, and defensively they've cratered, giving up more than 105 points per game. That is bad new with the NBA's leading scorer, Kevin Durant, coming to town. He scored 36 points and put in 10 rebounds against Portland two nights ago in a win that didn't come easily.
"We fought hard," Durant said. "We're a resilient team. We don't only play hard when we're winning. We're not only happy when we're winning. We keep our heads up through adversity and through tough times. That's just how we are as an organization."
The battle was a good one for them to win due to the rough and tumble nature their rivalry with Portland has assumed. "It was a physical game, but I like the fact that we kept competing and didn't let anything bother us," said coach Scott Brooks. "We just competed, possession by possession. And that's what good teams do."
The Thunder have a major injury of their own that they have dealt with to Russell Westbrook, but their supporting cast has picked up the slack. According to ESPN.com, Oklahoma City is 24-2 when reserve point guard Reggie Jackson scores at least 14 points.
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