Tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET on TNT the Oklahoma City Thunder (28-25) will resume regular season play by hosting the Dallas Mavericks (36-19) in a Western Conference matchup that can be live streamed free by clicking this link. Thunder fans can listen to the radio broadcast on WWLS 98.1, while Mavericks fans may do likewise on 103.3 ESPN.
The Mavericks and Thunder are both fighting tooth and nail to stay in the playoff race in the deep Western Conference, and the Mavs just made a big move to acquire reinforcement of their frontcourt. They inked recently waived forward Amar'e Stoudemire to add depth, and add scoring punch to a bench depleted by their trade for Rajon Rondo.
"To play alongside Dirk Nowitzki, Tyson Chandler and other great players, I think it's a tremendous opportunity for me to compete for a championship,"Stoudemire said.
As for Rondo, he's expected to return to action tonight after missing six games with an eye fracture suffered when he ran into his own teammate. He's excited to continue acclimating to his new situation with the Mavericks, as well as incorporate Stoudemire's pick-and-roll prowess.
"He's an All-Star, maybe a future Hall of Famer, and he's been in the game for a long time," Rondo said. "So it won't take him a long time to adjust. I'm not worried about Amar'e."
Oklahoma City embarks on their second half currently outside the playoff picture thanks to a slew of first half injuries. They've cobbled together several streaks to remain in the hunt, and head coach Scott Brooks thinks the team's mental toughness carried them through the roughest patches.
"The thing I love about our team -- there's no excuses," Brooks said. "There's plenty of games left. We don't know how it's going to end, but I do know -- I'm positive about this -- that our group is going to continue to play hard and for each other."
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