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The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to get back on track Monday night when they welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves to Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Thunder dropped the last two on a five-game road trip, which started with three straight wins. OKC can be forgiven for the setbacks as they came against the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers.
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On Sunday, the Thunder fell to LeBron James and company, 108-98.
James finished with 34 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks in the victory.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook both neared triple-doubles in the loss, but Westbrook's 7-for-26 shooting and just six combined points from starters Kendrick Perkins and Andre Roberson were too much for Oklahoma City to overcome.
"We missed some shots," said Durant. "We had some good looks but we missed them. I think we played a good game. We pretty much did whatever we wanted, but they came out on top. They hit some big shots."
Durant posted 32 points, nine assists and six rebounds and Westbrook finished with 22 points, 11 assists and nine boards.
Dion Waiters, who spent the first two-plus seasons in Cleveland before a trade on Jan. 7 sent him to the Thunder, added 14 points on 5-of-15 off the bench in his return to Quicken Loans Arena.
The Thunder hit the road again, following Monday's tilt. They visit the New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies on this quick trip.
The Timberwolves have dropped four straight and two of those came on the road.
On Sunday, the T-wolves became the latest victim of the Hawks. Minnesota fell, 112-100, in Atlanta.
Thaddeus Young recorded 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds to lead the Wolves. Mo Williams finished with 20 points, followed by 15 from Nikola Pekovic and 12 out of Andrew Wiggins.
The Hawks led by 14 at the half, then the gap was cut to nine after three quarters. Minnesota never sliced the deficit below six in the final frame.
"This is a game that shows our guys how we have to compete," Minnesota head coach Flip Saunders said.
The Thunder won the first matchup this season on Dec. 12 in Minnesota. Oklahoma City has taken four straight in this series and nine in a row as the host.
[SportsNetwork.com]
