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Thunder collide with Spurs at OKC

Mar 16, 2012 - 3:23 PM (Sports Network) - The two top seeds in the Western Conference meet in the Sooner State Friday when Oklahoma City entertains San Antonio.

The top-seeded Thunder, who lead the Northwest Division by a comfortable 9 1/2 games over Denver, will try to improve on their gaudy 18-3 home record tonight. Two of those three setbacks, however, came recently when Oklahoma City ended a five-game homestand in pedestrian fashion.

The Thunder rebounded a bit in the Rockies on Thursday, upending the Nuggets 103-90.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook didn't score 91 points, and Serge Ibaka wasn't close to a triple-double, but the result was the same a little less than a month removed from Oklahoma City's historic previous win over the Nuggets.

On Feb. 19, Durant scored 51 points, Westbrook added 40 and Ibaka posted a triple-double in a 124-118 overtime victory against Denver that made the Thunder the first team in NBA history to have a 50-point scorer, a 40-point scorer and a triple-double in the same game.

This time, Durant scored 24 points, Westbrook had 23 and James Harden added 18 off the bench against a Denver team playing after it learned one of its most veteran players had been traded.

Nene, the 6-foot-11 Brazilian big man who played his first 10 seasons with the Nuggets, was dealt to the Washington Wizards earlier Thursday in a three-team trade that also involved the Los Angeles Clippers.

"We had a stretch of the game in the first half where we turned the ball over and gave them a chance to come back and take the lead," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. "In the second half, we did a much better job."

The Spurs, meanwhile, lead the Southwest Division by four games over Memphis and trail OKC by four games for the top spot in the West. San Antonio acquired well traveled swingman Stephen Jackson from the Golden State Warriors on Thursday in exchange for Richard Jefferson, T.J. Ford and a 2012 first-round draft pick to help bolster the team for the stretch run.

Jackson had fallen out of a favor in Milwaukee this season, playing in just 26 games, averaging 10.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists before being dealt to the Warriors on Tuesday. But, the 33-year-old won a title with the Spurs back in 2003 and is the type of defender that Gregg Popovich craves on the wing. It's uncertain if Jackson will play tonight.

On the floor San Antonio just finished a 4-3 homestand, the latest of which came against Orlando on Wednesday, a 122-111 triumph.

Tony Parker had 31 points and 12 assists in that one while Tim Duncan added 21 points and 13 rebounds for San Antonio. Manu Ginobili tallied 14 points.

"It's great to have Manu out there. He hit some big shots for us," Duncan said of Ginobili, who has been hampered by injuries this season. "It looks like he's getting that rhythm back."

The Spurs have won seven of eight over the Thunder, including a 107-96 win in the Alamo City back on Feb. 4 when Parker scored 42 points.

San Antonio, meanwhile, is 11-9 on the road this season but has picked it up recently, winning nine of its last 10 as the visitor.