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Thunder-Trail Blazers Preview

Jan 9, 2016 - 6:43 PM When their two superstars are on the court, the fast-paced Oklahoma City Thunder are able to put as much pressure on an opponent as any team not named Golden State.

They hope to continue that trend for a second straight game versus the Portland Trail Blazers.

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant look to continue their strong play as the Thunder go after their seventh straight win with both in the lineup Sunday night at the Moda Center.

Although it ranks a distant second to the Warriors in scoring average (114.1 to 108.9), Oklahoma City entered the weekend 2.6 points behind mighty Golden State with 109.6 per 100 possessions.

The Thunder (26-11) are generating many of those by getting into the lane. They rank near the top of the league with 25.6 free-throw attempts per game and in the top three with both a 79.7 free-throw percentage and 46.9 points in the paint per game.

That's how the Thunder did their damage last month versus Portland (15-24). They owned a 48-34 edge in paint points and went 28 for 37 from the line in a 106-90 home win Dec. 16.

Durant finished with 24 points but Westbrook had 13 while missing 10 of 15 shots. Westbrook, however, is coming off a big game Friday when he scored 36, hit 13 of 16 from the free-throw line and pulled down 12 rebounds in a 117-113 road win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Durant has shot 58.7 percent while making 7 of 10 from 3-point range to go along with 11.7 boards per game in the past three. The six-time All-Star sat out the club's only loss in the past seven, 116-104 to Sacramento on Monday, because of a sprained right big toe.

"Whoever is in front of us, we're just trying to get better," Durant told the team's official website after finishing with 24 points against the Lakers.

Oklahoma City will likely try to keep the pressure on as it goes after its first five-game road winning streak since running off six in a row in January 2014. Portland is sending opponents to the free-throw line 26 times per game, the most in the Western Conference.

The Blazers are looking to tighten things up defensively after giving up an average of 108.6 points during a 1-4 stretch. They let visiting Golden State shoot 52.9 percent - including 18 for 32 from 3-point range - in their third straight defeat, 128-108 on Friday.

Portland hasn't lost four in a row at home since dropping eight straight late in 2012-13.

Damian Lillard was a bright spot Friday, becoming the first Blazer with 40 points and 10 assists in the history of the Moda Center. The star guard had gone just 11 for 39 (28.2 percent) from the field in his first two games after missing seven because of left foot plantar fasciitis.

"I'm a confident basketball player and coming off the injury, I knew I would get it going eventually,'' said Lillard, who had a 40 and 11 game at Oklahoma City on Dec. 23, 2014.

Allen Crabbe contributed 18 points and C.J. McCollum added 17 after missing one game because he was inadvertently left off the pregame active sheet submitted to the officials.

McCollum had 24 points last month at Oklahoma City, while Lillard scored 20 on 6-of-20 shooting as Portland shot 34.8 percent and committed 18 turnovers.