Tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET the Oklahoma City Thunder (18-20), fresh off a rough road loss on Thursday night, will have to collect themselves in time to host the best team in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors (31-5) at Chesapeake Arena on ESPN. Live stream the Western Conference tilt free by clicking this link. Thunder fans can hear the action on WWLS 98.1, while Warriors fans can find the radio broadcast on KNBR 680.
The Thunder were wiped out early by Houston last night, surrendering 40 first quarter points and digging a hole that ultimately proved to deep to climb out of.
"We struggled getting back," coach Scott Brooks said. "We struggled covering the 3-point line. They were getting everything they wanted in the first quarter ... we can't give up a 40-point quarter."
The putrid first quarter served as a microcosm for OKC's recent defensive struggles. They have given up 110 points per game over their past seven games, and they've got the NBA's hottest offense invading their court.
Golden State is scoring 109 points a night, despite working in returning players that are cramping the playing time of role players who filled in nicely. Even with the constantly adjusting minutes, veteran David Lee said the team's focus on winning and depth has kept the transition smooth.
"I think our team has done a good job of keeping our energy up and keeping our spirits up," forward David Lee said. "And I think it all goes back to having that depth and having that cohesiveness as a team that helps us at these times."
Defensively the Warriors have improved as well, limiting opponents to 98.1 points. They'll be tested against Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, however. Last night Durant tried his best to pull Oklahoma City back from their deficit with 24 points on 66 percent shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 from downtown.
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