The Oklahoma City Thunder head to Atlanta on Saturday to play their one game against Hawks this season and may be without All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook rolled his ankle with 5:46 remaining against the Orlando Magic on Thursday, but didn’t leave until 20 seconds remained to ensure Thunder’s 105-102 win.
“Russell has a heart of a lion. That’s the bottom line.” said coach Scott Brooks.
Westbrook was a little more candid.
“I don’t know. I was just playing, man, trying to find a way to win,” he said. “We had never won in this building. I wanted to beat Orlando on the road.”
Averaging 28.7 points and 6.5 assists in his last six, Westbrook has played in 282 consecutive games, the second longest active streak behind Derek Fisher. Saturday may be the first time he will sit out since being drafted fourth overall in 2008.
Westbrook’s absence may even the field against the Hawks (21-15), who are again without leading scorer Joe Johnson, missing his fourth game in Atlanta’s last five with tendinitis in his knee.
The Hawks, losers of their last four meetings against the Thunder, have a simple game plan: get Josh Smith to score.
Atlanta is 10-0 when the high-flying forward tops 20 points. Friday’s result was no different as Smith scored 24 points in a 99-94 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Smith, who also grabbed 19 rebounds, capped his performance with a dunk and block sandwiched around Vladimir Radmanovic’s clutch 3-pointer.
They’ll need another spectacular game from J-Smoove to combat Kevin Durant, whose biggest challenge lately hasn’t been NBA defenses but finding room on his trophy shelf.
Oklahoma City has won seven straight games and owns the best record in the league (29-7).