Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Atlanta Hawks – NBA preview
The Atlanta Hawks will host Oklahoma City Thunder tonight (March 4, 2011) as the Hawks look to script another win after a hard-fought home victory against the Chicago Bulls.
The contest is of great importance for the Thunder as they are playing without Kevin Durant. His absence would seem to be beyond Oklahoma’s control as he is the NBA scoring leader and averages a league-high 28.4 points and 7.1 rebounds, 28 points per game.
Durant rolled his ankle when he stepped on Tyler Hansbrough's foot on a drive to the basket in a match against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. He was helped to the locker room by two trainers and did not return. Durant scored 21 points before leaving
in the third quarter.
Besides the injury, Durant seems to be fine and restless to rejoin his squad and said, “It is not in my hands... As of right now, I want to play. I think I can play. If we started a game right now, I could play.”
Durant’s absence is hard to recover for James Harden, who is quietly enjoying a breakout stretch averaging 17 points per game (PPG) in 27.8 minutes in his last five games of the season. Russell Westbrook could handle the situation, as he has been able to
lead the Thunder when Kevin sat out for two games during November 2010 with a sprained ankle. Westbrook recorded 34- and 31-point performances in two of the victories. In addition to that, he scored 21 points in the previous match against the Pacers.
At 37-22 during the current season, the Thunder trails the Lakers by three games, and leads the Nuggets by four.
The Hawks on the other hand are in a strong position are they caught attention of 16,928 home basketball fans in their previous 83-80 victory over the visiting Bulls. Atlanta proved that they could still play defensively and give the opponent a tough time
with their athleticism even if forward Josh Smith is out of the lineup.
Al Horford had a career high game with 31 points, including a slam-dunk off a give-and-go pass from Jamal Crawford, with 29.4 seconds left as the Hawks rallied from 19 points down to beat Chicago.
Atlanta coach Larry Drew appreciated the breath-taking performance of Horford, saying, “He was absolutely a beast tonight. I was a little concerned in the fourth quarter. I thought he might have gotten a little winded. I was going to actually get him out
of the game and give him a quick blow, but I could not take him out. He was playing too well and we were right there.”
Talking about the head-to-head matches between the two powerhouses during this season, the Thunder hold a definite edge. The Hawks have gone 1-6 in their last seven home games against Oklahoma City.
Tags: