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Nets, Thunder get together in the OKC

Dec 29, 2010 - 4:14 PM (Sports Network) - The New Jersey Nets kick off a three-game road trip in Oklahoma City tonight against Kevin Durant and the Thunder.

The Nets, who will also visit Chicago and Minnesota on this trip, lost their second straight game on Monday in snowy Newark. A severe winter storm left as much as two feet of snow in the area Sunday, enough to delay the Orlando team bus as it became stuck in a snowbank on the way to the arena but that didn't stop the Magic from topping New Jersey, 104-88.

Devin Harris led the Nets with 24 points and Brook Lopez finished with 20 points and seven rebounds for New Jersey, which hasn't beaten the Magic since April 2009. Travis Outlaw and Jordan Farmar both accounted for 10 points in the loss.

"On a night like tonight when our defense is not as good as it's been recently we've got to score the ball," Nets coach Avery Johnson said. "This is another night when we didn't score and that's a problem."

The Nets are just 3-13 on the road this season and will be hoping to snap a four-game skid against Oklahoma City, a stretch that included a 123-120 triple overtime win by the Thunder in north Jersey back on Dec. 1. Oklahoma City was able to outlast the Nets in that one despite playing without Durant, who sat out that contest with a sprained left knee. Russell Westbrook was the star in his absence, just missing a triple-double with 38 points, a career-best 15 rebounds and nine assists.

Most recently the Thunder fell to 1-1 on a four-game homestand Monday when Jason Terry scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and the Mavericks, despite playing most of the game without Dirk Nowitzki, shut down Oklahoma City in the final period and posted a 103-93 victory.

Nowitzki departed the game just 2:50 into the second quarter with a sore right knee. He came down awkwardly on his ankle after hitting a jumper, and he left the game after completing the three-point play. He finished with 13 points.

Durant scored 28 points, while James Harden ended with 18 for the Thunder, who were coming off an eight-point home win over the Nuggets on Christmas Day and are 11-6 in Okie City.

Westbrook scored 15 points and Jeff Green 12 for Oklahoma City, which was held to 4-of-18 shooting from the field in the last quarter.

"We just picked a bad time to miss shots," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "I thought the fourth quarter, when they went to the zone, we just couldn't buy any baskets."

Oklahoma City will finish its residency against Atlanta on New Year's Eve.