The Oklahoma City Thunder hope to go 2-0 on this mini road trip Monday night when they head to the Verizon Center to take on the Washington Wizards.
The Thunder started the voyage with a 104-92 victory up north over the Toronto Raptors. Russell Westbrook led the way with 23 points and Kevin Durant wasn't far behind with 22. Durant added seven rebounds and seven assists in a team effort that saw three other Oklahoma City players score in double figures.
The Thunder tallied 24 assists on the afternoon.
"That's definitely going to be a continued key going into every game," head coach Scott Brooks said. "We just have to keep moving the basketball. We're good when we force the defense to chase the ball around and the ball finds a good shot. It's not really who finds it, as long as it's a good shot. We've done that most of the year and we just have to continue to build on those habits."
The victory over the Raptors started not just a two-game jaunt away from home, but a long stretch outside Oklahoma City. The Thunder, who own the fewest road losses in the NBA with four, play 10 of their next 12 on the road.
"We have a trust here in this locker room and our bond is very tight," said reserve Kevin Martin, who scored 16 off the bench on Sunday. "We just want to go out there and play together at home, and now we just have to take it on the road."
The Wizards also played on Sunday and got trounced by the defending champion Miami Heat. It was a game heading into the fourth quarter for the Wizards, but they were held scoreless over the last seven minutes, lost the fourth quarter, 30-11, and fell 99-71.
"Those last seven minutes was what really killed us," acknowledged Bradley Beal, who only managed nine points on 4-for-14 shooting. "They went on a 21-0 run. We weren't talking, we weren't making our shots. It was a bad effort on both ends of the floor."
Kevin Seraphin led the way with 14 points. Cartier Martin added 13 off the bench and Martell Webster was the only starter in double figures with 10. Starting point guard Garrett Temple was held scoreless in almost 32 minutes.
The Wizards, the worst scoring team in the NBA at 88.9 ppg, were held well below their season average. They are also the worst shooting team in the league and displayed that as well against the Heat. The Wiz average shooting 40 percent from the field, but on Sunday, they were held to 36 percent.
Washington is the second-worst 3-point shooting team at 29 percent and the Wizards were also held slightly below that.
The Wizards, losers of five straight, were also outrebounded by the worst rebounding team in the NBA.
The Wizards won last season's only matchup, a 105-102 victory in Washington. The Thunder took five in a row before last season's setback.
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