Thunderfan86
01-12-2016, 07:46 PM
The 3-point line was the Oklahoma City Thunder's downfall in the second stop on a three-game trip, but there's virtually no chance of a long-range rampage hurting them in the finale.
The Thunder will try to avoid back-to-back losses to close what looked like a harmless trip Tuesday night in Minnesota, where the Timberwolves have continued to ignore the 3-point line during a stretch of 10 losses in 11 games.
Oklahoma City (26-12) has established itself as the Western Conference's third-best team behind Golden State and San Antonio, and it's often looked on par with those two while going 15-3 in its last 18 with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook healthy.
But the Thunder had to fight to hold off the West-worst Los Angeles Lakers 117-113 on Friday and couldn't hang on Sunday in Portland. They led by eight after Andre Roberson's 3-pointer with 3:19 left, but the Blazers hit six of their 19 3-pointers in the next two minutes to rally for a 115-110 win.
Considering how contested at least five of them were, Durant didn't seem concerned with the Thunder, who have given up 108.6 points per game over their last eight.
"They were coming off pick-and-rolls, shooting fall-away 3s, step-back 3s," he said. "You've got to give them credit. That's what they do."
That's not at all what the Timberwolves (12-26) do. The Thunder have to forget about the Blazers, who take the fifth-most 3s in the league (28.2 per game), and focus on Minnesota, which averages a league-low 15.2 attempts.
That number's dipped to 12 per contest - with 3.7 makes, for 31.1 percent - over an 11-game dry spell in which the Timberwolves have averaged just 90.3 points.
Continue reading @ http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/preview/NBA_20160112_OKC@MIN
Curious to see what Thunder team shows up tonight
The Thunder will try to avoid back-to-back losses to close what looked like a harmless trip Tuesday night in Minnesota, where the Timberwolves have continued to ignore the 3-point line during a stretch of 10 losses in 11 games.
Oklahoma City (26-12) has established itself as the Western Conference's third-best team behind Golden State and San Antonio, and it's often looked on par with those two while going 15-3 in its last 18 with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook healthy.
But the Thunder had to fight to hold off the West-worst Los Angeles Lakers 117-113 on Friday and couldn't hang on Sunday in Portland. They led by eight after Andre Roberson's 3-pointer with 3:19 left, but the Blazers hit six of their 19 3-pointers in the next two minutes to rally for a 115-110 win.
Considering how contested at least five of them were, Durant didn't seem concerned with the Thunder, who have given up 108.6 points per game over their last eight.
"They were coming off pick-and-rolls, shooting fall-away 3s, step-back 3s," he said. "You've got to give them credit. That's what they do."
That's not at all what the Timberwolves (12-26) do. The Thunder have to forget about the Blazers, who take the fifth-most 3s in the league (28.2 per game), and focus on Minnesota, which averages a league-low 15.2 attempts.
That number's dipped to 12 per contest - with 3.7 makes, for 31.1 percent - over an 11-game dry spell in which the Timberwolves have averaged just 90.3 points.
Continue reading @ http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/preview/NBA_20160112_OKC@MIN
Curious to see what Thunder team shows up tonight