Vitals: Thunder at Trailblazers

Everything you need to know when Oklahoma City visits Portland.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:29 am

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Feb 8, 2010 9:29 PM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

Oklahoma City Thunder (29-21) at Portland Trailblazers (30-23)
Tuesday, February 8, 2010, 9 p.m. CST.
Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon
Game 51 of 82

Anticipated Starting Lineups

	Oklahoma City	Portland
PG	Russell Westbrook 16.2 PPG, 7.5 APG	Andre Miller 13.2 PPG, 5.3 APG
SG	Thabo Sefolosha 6.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG	Jerryd Bayless 9.5 PPG, 2.4 APG
SF	Kevin Durant 29.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG	Martell Webster 11.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG
PF	Jeff Green 14.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG	LaMarcus Aldridge 17.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG
C	Nenad Krstic 8.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG	Juwan Howard 5.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG

Injuries...
Oklahoma City: G/F Kyle Weaver (shoulder, out); F DJ White (thumb, out).
Portland: G Brandon Roy (hamstring, day-to-day); C Joel Przybilla (knee, out); F Travis Outlaw (foot, out); C Greg Oden (knee, out).

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

What you need to know?
After losing three straight, Oklahoma City has caught fire and won five straight, including big wins over Denver and Atlanta. In those five wins it has been an offensive clinic. The Thunder has scored more than 100 points in all five contests. The win streak has moved Oklahoma City back into the Western Conference top 8 and back into the playoff picture.

Portland has been moving in the opposite direction, dropping six of its last 10 games and only breaking 100 points three times. Injuries have ravaged the Trailblazers starting lineup and their leading scorer hasn’t scored more than 20 points in three of their last 10 games.

Who to watch?
Kevin Durant is the man for the Thunder. He has 24 games with 25 points or more and is in the running for his first NBA scoring title, along with his first NBA All-Star appearance. Russell Westbrook has continued to improve and is now a top-tier point guard. The second-year guard was named the Western Conference player of the week for the second time this season.

With injuries to Brandon Roy and Travis Outlaw, LaMarcus Aldridge has to be the man for Portland. The third-year forward from Texas is averaging 17.1 points per game and 8.3 rebounds, but over the last five games he has improved that to 21.8 points and 8.4 rebounds. Andre Miller will have his hands full trying to shut down Westbrook’s scoring.