Thunder

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The Wizards return home after a 12-day trip for a rematch with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Capital One Arena | 7:00 p.m. | NBCSW | 1500 AM

Wizards (27-22): G - Satoransky, G - Beal, F - Porter Jr., F - Morris, C - Gortat 

Thunder (30-20): G - Westbrook, G - Ferguson, F - George, F - Anthony, C - Adams

Wizards: John Wall (Knee - Out), Sheldon Mac (Achilles - Out)

Since last Thursday's game, both teams will be without one of their starters tonight, as John Wall will be out with a knee injury for Washington and Andre Roberson is out for the season after rupturing his patella tendon in Sunday's game in Oklahoma.

Wall played in Thursday's game in OKC, but missed Saturday's game in Atlanta and the team announced on Tuesday afternoon that he would be undergoing a knee procedure, with a timeline to be given after the procedure has been completed.    Tomas Satoransky will likely start again in Wall's place, with Tim Frazier getting minutes off the bench.  The two combined for 21 of the team's season-high 40 assists on Saturday.

The Thunder announced that Roberson will miss the rest of the season after his injury on Sunday, a tough blow for a Thunder team that had been red hot with him in the lineup.  Roberson is one of Oklahoma's best perimeter defenders and will be tough to replace the rest of the way.  They'll likely start rookie Terrance Ferguson in his place, who had 11 points on 3/6 shooting from 3p last time against the Wizards.

The Wizards will play their first home game in over two weeks tonight as they host a Thunder team they played just five days ago in Oklahoma City.  The Wiz went 2-3 on their road trip, which included a tough 121-112 loss in OKC last Thursday night.  In that game, the Wiz had a tough shooting first half, but then exploded in the second, led by Bradley Beal who finished the game with 41 points.  But, they couldn't slow down Russell Westbrook, who had a game-high 46 points to lead the Thunder to a win.  The Wiz committed 23 turnovers, which led to 36 Thunder points, something that has been a point of emphasis heading into tonight's game.  The Thunder lead the league in steals, averaging 9.4 per game. The Wizards are 15-9 at home this season.

The Thunder enter tonight's game on an eight-game win streak, the longest active streak in the NBA.  Over their last seven games, they have averaged a +12.3 point differential and have played as well as any team in the league.  The Thunder are 22-8 since December 1st, which trails only the Warriors since that time.  They are one of only three teams in the league who rank in the top 10 in both offense and defense and they can present plenty of problems with their starting five.  This will be a good test for a shorthanded Wizards team tonight in D.C.

Up next, the Wizards host the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night. (7:00 p.m.)

wizards-return-home-for-rematch-with-thunder

Wizards return home for rematch with Thunder

The Wizards head to Oklahoma City for a national TV game against the Thunder.

Chesapeake Energy Arena | 8:00 p.m. | TNT | 1500 AM

Wizards (26-21): G - Wall, G - Beal, F - Porter Jr., F - Morris, C - Gortat 

Thunder (27-20): G - Westbrook, G - Roberson, F - George, F - Anthony, C - Adams

Over the last five days, the Wizards have played just one game and it was a blowout loss in Dallas, which should have this team itching to get back on the court tonight.  The Wiz are 3-0 this season after losing by 20+ points, which includes their win last Friday in Detroit.  It's been a tough start to the trip, with two blowout losses in Charlotte and Dallas with that win in Detroit sandwiched in between those two games.  But, the Wiz still have a chance to make this a winning trip and while they've struggled this season against the sub .500 teams, that won't be an issue tonight as they'll get a chance to play a hot Thunder team on national TV.     The two teams will meet again next Tuesday in D.C.

Since December 1st, the Thunder have gone 19-8 and they are currently the hottest team in the NBA, winners of five straight.  They got off to a tough start, but have turned things around and enter tonight with a record one game better than the Wizards.  They have really started to click on the offensive end, which included a franchise-high 148 points against the Cavs last Sunday.  The reigning MVP, Russell Westbrook, was just named an All-Star reserve in the Western Conference and this will be the first time the Wizards play against this Thunder team with former All-Stars Paul George and Carmelo Anthony in the front court.  Besides their big three, it may be Steven Adams who presents real problems inside, as he's had double digit rebounds in five straight games and has had 20+ points and 10+ rebounds in two of his last three.    Despite coming close a few times, the Wizards have never beaten the Thunder in Oklahoma City, going 0-8 over the last decade.    Scott Brooks, who coached the Thunder for many of those games, will return as the visiting coach for just the second time in his career.  He received a standing ovation last year when he returned and will likely get a nice hand from the crowd again tonight.

Wall and Beal's First Game as All-Star Backcourt

While they've been called an All-Star caliber backcourt for quite some time, tonight John Wall and Bradley Beal will play their first official game as an All-Star backcourt as both were named All-Stars on Tuesday night.  Wall will be heading to his fifth All-Star game, while Beal will be making his All-Star debut in February.  It's the first time the Wizards will send a pair of teammates to the All-Star game since 2008, when Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler were selected.  Wall leads the Eastern Conference in assists with 9.2, while Beal is averaging a career-high 23.6 points per game.

Up next, the Wizards close out their longest road trip of the season when they play the Hawks in Atlanta. (7:30 p.m.)

Thunder

Wizards return home for rematch with Thunder

Wizards and Thunder tonight on TNT