The Oklahoma City Thunder will play the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday. It’s the first meeting between the two squads so far this year.
Kevin Durant and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl OUT for Thunder – Nets
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- Brooklyn Nets
When playing without Kevin Durant for the first time in at least two weeks, the Brooklyn Nets had trouble scoring, especially in the fourth quarter of their game against the Boston Celtics.
The Nets host the surging Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night, their second game without Kevin Durant following a season-low scoring performance.
For the second year in a row, Durant has sidelined the Nets with a knee injury. On Sunday, the Nets will have been without him for a full year due to a sprained left knee, which caused him to miss 21 games.
The Nets, playing for the first time since Durant sprained his left knee in a collision with Jimmy Butler a week ago in Miami, were held to 16 points in the fourth quarter and ultimately lost 109-98 to the NBA’s best team on Thursday night.
The Nets would also benefit from a stronger performance from Kyrie Irving. Irving scored 24 points to lead Brooklyn, but he only shot 9-of-24 (including 3-of-10 in the fourth quarter).
T.J. Warren scored 20 points in relief after being discussed as a possible starter in place of Durant. Ben Simmons had 13 assists but did not score and admitted he needs to be more aggressive, while Joe Harris added 18.
Injury Report
| PLAYER | POSITION | UPDATED | INJURY | INJURY STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Durant | PF | Mon, Jan 9 | Knee | Expected to be out until at least Feb 7 |
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- Oklahoma City Thunder
Recent trends in Oklahoma City’s play have been encouraging, and the Thunder are currently looking for their third consecutive three-game win streak.
The Thunder have gone 9-5 over the past 14 games since losing by a combined two points to Memphis and Minnesota on December 16-17, capping a five-game losing streak.
Recently, Oklahoma City has been on a roll, with highlights including 150 points in a 33-point rout of the Celtics on January 3 and 133-114 victory in Philadelphia on Thursday.
After breaking a six-game losing streak on the road on Thursday, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Chicago Bulls 124-110 on Friday despite a shaky third quarter.
With 11 of his 25 points coming in the fourth, Giddey was a big factor for Oklahoma City down the stretch, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, fresh off his 37-point performance in Philadelphia, added 21 of his own.
It has been since December 2017 in Mexico City that Oklahoma City has suffered its only road loss to the Nets since the 2015-16 season.
Injury Report
| PLAYER | POSITION | UPDATED | INJURY | INJURY STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah Robinson-Earl | C | Tue, Jan 10 | Ankle | Expected to be out until at least Jan 18 |
| Aleksej Pokusevski | PF | Wed, Jan 4 | Lower Leg | Expected to be out until at least Feb 23 |
| Ousmane Dieng | SF | Thu, Dec 15 | Wrist | Expected to be out until at least Jan 27 |
| Chet Holmgren | C | Thu, Aug 25 | Foot | Out for the season |
