The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are playing on the NBA Christmas Day schedule and the matchup on Thursday is on ABC on TV and streaming online from the WatchESPN website as Russell Westbrook and Tim Duncan face off in a conference matchup at 2:30 pm ET, although OKC star Kevin Durant will be out with an injury.
The Thunder have been playing well since the return of Durant and Russell Westbrook from injuries and they now matchup with one of the best teams in the NBA. The team comes in after a loss against the Portland Trail Blazers in overtime and they will next play against the Charlotte Hornets at home on the schedule. The Thunder are ranked first in the NBA in points allowed per game this season and they come in after getting 40 points from Russell Westbrook against the Blazers.
OKC is 13-16 on the season, while the Spurs are 18-11 behind the Memphis Grizzlies in the division standings. Durant will be out for the game on Christmas Day with an ankle injury and this now will be the fourth straight game he has missed after spraining his right ankle. Durant started the season sitting out with an injury and returned earlier in the month and now he has missed time after injuring his ankle last week against the Warriors.
Durant is averaging 22 points and five rebounds this season and the team is 7-2 with him in the lineup, but just 6-14 when he is out of the lineup. The Thunder still have to get things going to get into the playoff race in the west, as they are a few games out of the final spot in the conference. The Spurs come in at fourth in the southwest conference this season and they are ranked in the top 10 in points allowed per game. The Spurs come in averaging 102 points per game and they are ranked in the top 10 in rebounding and assists per game.
Westbrook is leading the Thunder in scoring this season with 28 points per contest and he is tops with seven assists per game. Westbrook has had to shoulder the load with Durant out and the Spurs have also been dealing with an injury to Kawhi Leonard. The Thunder have lost two straight with Durant out and he comes in after missing 17 games earlier in the season with a broken foot.
Tony Parker is leading the Spurs in scoring and he came back from an injury to score 26 points against the Clippers in a win for San Antonio. The Spurs had lost four games in a row and they have gone just 3-4 without Leonard playing, showing his value to the team. Westbrook has played very well over the past few weeks since coming back from his injury and he has now averaged 29 points over the last 13 games, which is best in the league.
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