Vitals: Suns at Thunder

The Thunder host the Suns tonight as the race for playoff positions continues to heat up.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:38 am

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Apr 9, 2010 1:3 PM CDT

Stephany Speck
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

Phoenix Suns (51-27) at Oklahoma City Thunder (48-30)
Friday, April 9, 2010, 7:00 p.m. CDT
Ford Center, Oklahoma City
Game 79 of 82

Anticipated Starting Lineups

	Phoenix (Away)	Oklahoma City (Home)
PG	Steve Nash 16.6 PPG, 11.0 APG	Russell Westbrook 16.3 PPG, 8.0 APG
SG	Jason Richardson 15.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG	Thabo Sefolosha 5.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG
SF	Grant Hill 11.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG	Kevin Durant 29.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG
PF	Amar'e Stoudemire 23.0 PPG, 8.8 RPG	Jeff Green 15.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG
C	Jarron Collins 0.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG	Nenad Krstic 8.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG

Injuries
Phoenix: C, Robin Lopez (back, out).
Oklahoma City: none.

Where to find it?
On TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma
On Radio: Thunder Radio Network

What you need to know?
Both teams are fighting for playoff positions. The Suns are in a battle with the Dallas Mavericks for third, while the Thunder is in a three-way tie with the Portland Trail Blazers and the San Antonio Spurs for sixth place. Phoenix has won 11 of its last 12 games against Oklahoma City, but each team has earned one win against each other on the road. The Thunder beat the Suns in Phoenix 117-113 on Dec. 23, while the Suns returned the favor in the Ford Center exactly two months later with a 104-102.

The Thunder has been struggling, dropping its last two games, including a controversial 140-139 loss to the Utah Jazz and a 98-94 loss to the Denver Nuggets in which Oklahoma City failed to make a basket in the last nine minutes.

Who to watch?
The Suns’ Amar'e Stoudemire led his team with 29 points in Phoenix’s Wednesday win against the Spurs and will likely be a nuisance for Jeff Green on defense. Stoudemire is averaging 23.0 points and 8.8 rebounds a game.

Meanwhile, Green and the rest of his team will have to redeem themselves from a poor finish in Wednesday’s game against Denver. They held a 13-point lead in the final quarter before squandering it to the Nuggets. Russell Westbrook, who finished with 21 points, will have to find a way to keep Steve Nash from generating too much offensive momentum. Nash leads the league with 11 assists per game, while also shooting a league-high 93.5 percent from the charity line.

One of the more compelling competitions of the night includes a player not even involved in the game. Kevin Durant is just .2 points ahead of LeBron James in the league’s scoring race. Durant finished with 33 points against the Nuggets, despite shooting 0-for-6 from the field in the last 12 minutes. KD averages 29.9 points per game, while James, who rested during the Cavs’ game against the Chicago Bulls, averages 29.7. LeBron may also sit out in Cleveland’s game against Indiana, giving Durant another night to improve his average and keep the lead.