Associated Press
In helping Oklahoma City bounce back from its only loss this month, rookie Mitch McGary finally showed why the Thunder took him in the first round of the draft.
Oklahoma City will try to keep heading in the right direction Monday night against the slumping Denver Nuggets, who seek to avoid their longest home losing streak in 12 seasons.
After losing on a buzzer beater Friday against New Orleans, Oklahoma City (26-25) improved to 3-1 this month with Sunday's 131-108 rout of the short-handedLos Angeles Clippers. Kevin Durant scored 29 points on 10-of-15 shooting in his second game back from a sprained big toe against a team that was missing star Blake Griffin due to a staph infection.
McGary provided 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting and 10 rebounds in 23-plus minutes in his third NBA game. The 21st overall pick, who has been dealing with foot and leg injuries, totaled three points and four rebounds in eight-plus minutes in his first two contests.
"He plays with great energy and he's got a good feel," forward Nick Collison said. "It was really fun to see him. He's had a tough go of it with injuries, but he was ready to go."
McGary will try to contribute again when the Thunder visit Denver, losers in 12 of 13 and five in a row at home. The Nuggets (19-32) also took a fifth consecutive overall defeat Friday, 98-88 in Detroit, and their 38.8-percent shooting performance marked the fourth time they've been held under 40.0 during their skid.
Denver is also connecting at 22.0 percent from beyond the arc in the last five games, while averaging 88.2 points - 12.1 below its season mark. Only Jameer Nelson (Achilles) and JaVale McGee (illness) didn't play Friday, but coach Brian Shaw said many more Nuggets were playing while sick.
That could make it difficult for Denver to avoid its first six-game home skid since dropping seven straight Feb. 6-March 2, 2003.
"We legitimately have five or six guys that are under the weather," Shaw said.
The Nuggets have won four of their last five home games against Oklahoma City, including a 107-100 victory Nov. 17 in the most recent matchup. Wilson Chandler had a team-leading 21 points and nine rebounds while Ty Lawson contributed 15 points and 15 assists.
Lawson has a combined 43 points in his last two contests while Chandler has totaled 19. Lawson is averaging 21.7 points in his last seven matchups with the Thunder and had a game-high 25 on 8-of-12 shooting in a 102-91 road loss Nov. 1.
Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka has combined for 45 points and 15 rebounds in this season's two meetings, both played without Durant and Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook has missed the last four matchups, but is averaging 30.6 points in his last nine games against the Nuggets, easily his best against any team since the start of the 2011-12 season. He had 19 on 6-of-19 shooting Sunday after scoring 45 and 48 in his previous games.
The Thunder could get Kendrick Perkins back after a one-game suspension. The center was penalized for making head-to-head contact with New Orleans' Tyreke Evans in Friday's 116-113 loss.