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Thunder aim to rebound vs. Utah

Mar 23, 2011 - 3:23 PM (Sports Network) - The Oklahoma City Thunder will attempt to bounce back from an uncharacteristic bad loss when they square off against Northwest Division rival Utah on Wednesday.

The Northwest-leading Thunder fell to one of the NBA's worst teams on Sunday in Okie City when Amir Johnson's hook shot with 1.4 seconds remaining gave the Raptors a 95-93 victory over the Thunder.

Russell Westbrook finished with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists while Kevin Durant scored 20 with five boards but missed a potential game-tying shot in the waning seconds for Oklahoma City. Kendrick Perkins grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in the loss, which snapped a six-game winning streak for the Thunder.

James Harden posted 23 points off the bench for Oklahoma City, which dropped both meetings with the Raptors this season.

"That was a tough loss tonight," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. "I thought they did a good job of executing down the stretch while we struggled executing down the stretch. But I think both teams fought hard."

Despite the loss Oklahoma City, which has dropped back-to-back home games only once this season, is four games ahead of Denver for the division lead, and fourth overall in the Western Conference, 3 1/2 games behind third-place Dallas.

The Jazz, meanwhile, keep playing poorly as their playoff chances dim by the day. Utah fell to 0-2 on a three-game road trip Monday in Memphis when Zach Randolph led a balanced attack, finishing with 19 points and 13 rebounds, as the Grizzlies handled the Jazz, 103-85.

Paul Millsap had a team-high 15 points to go with six boards while Al Jefferson scored 12 points for the Jazz, who have dropped four of their last six and four in a row on the road. The team struggled mightily on the offensive end after losing point guard Devin Harris, who aggravated a strained right hamstring in the first quarter.

Utah, which hasn't missed the postseason since 2006, is now in the 11th spot in the West, three games behind the eighth place Grizz with just 11 games left in its campaign.

"We're still in it," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "We've got to keep fighting. We can't quit until we're out of it."

Harris, who is averaging 14.6 points and 5.2 assists since being acquired Feb. 23 from New Jersey in a the deal that sent Deron Williams to the Garden State, is expected to miss tonight's game.

The Thunder have won two of three against Utah so far this season.