The Oklahoma City Thunder return to the Staples Center Friday night for the first time since last season's playoffs to take on a struggling Los Angeles Lakers team at 10:30 pm ET.
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Los Angeles (15-20) completed a two-game trip earlier this week without Dwight Howard (shoulder), Pau Gasol (concussion) and Jordan Hill (hip). Howard and Hill will not play Friday while Gasol has not been ruled out.
Forwards Antawn Jamison and Earl Clark received more minutes in Tuesday's 125-112 loss to Houston and Wednesday's 108-105 defeat at San Antonio. Bryant scored 27 on Wednesday.
Los Angeles last dropped six in a row during a seven-game slide March 2-15, 2007.
The Lakers did not have Gasol or Steve Nash when they fell 114-108 at Oklahoma City on Dec. 7 in the lone previous matchup this season. Durant outscored Bryant 36-35, with Russell Westbrook adding 33 for the Thunder (27-8).
Meanwhile, the Thunder figure to have an edge defensively in the paint with Howard and his 2.6 blocks per game out. Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka is the only West player with a better average of 2.9 blocks.
Westbrook has averaged 21.8 points and 8.2 assists in his last six meetings with Nash -- all wins for Oklahoma City -- with the former Phoenix guard averaging 10.5 points and 9.2 assists in those defeats.
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