Durant, Thunder aim to rebound vs. Milwaukee

(SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Durant, the NBA's leading scorer at 29.5 points per game, has posted 78 points in his last two games.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have lost both of those games and will try to bounce back Saturday versus the league's worst team, the Milwaukee Bucks, at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Durant dropped 48 points on the Utah Jazz in a loss on Tuesday, then scored 30 points in a 101-88 setback at Denver two nights later. He has posted 20-plus points in 10 straight games. Reggie Jackson and Derek Fisher scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, in the recent loss for the Thunder, who shot a miserable 35.3 percent for the game and made only 6-of-24 3-pointers.

Oklahoma City was outscored, 62-40, in the second and third quarters combined and lost for the fourth time in six tries.

"I thought our third quarter, offensively, we took too many bad shots," OKC head coach Scott Brooks said. "Shots that were not generated from a pass and when we rely on that, it's hard to make those shots consistently."

Brooks' squad has lost two in a row on three different occasions this season and hasn't tasted defeat in three straight games since last Feb. 12-20. The Thunder look to build on their 15-3 home mark Saturday and are 10-2 against teams from the Eastern Conference.

Milwaukee has lost four in a row and will play its next two games on the road against Oklahoma City and Toronto.

The Bucks' latest loss was an 81-72 defeat versus the Chicago Bulls, as both Ersan Ilyasova and Luke Ridnour scored 14 points and O.J. Mayo led the squad with 16 off the bench.

Brandon Knight had 12 points for the Bucks, who made 31.8 percent from the floor and have an NBA-worst 7-28 record. Chicago outscored Milwaukee 27-9 from the free-throw line.

"Going down the stretch you have to make plays and we did not make plays," said Bucks head coach Larry Drew. "We forced a couple shots down the stretch and it probably wasn't the best selection on some shots, but you have to make plays."

John Henson missed his sixth straight game for the Bucks with a sprained left ankle and is questionable Saturday.

The Bucks have a 4-14 record outside the Bradley Center this season.

Milwaukee lost the first meeting with Oklahoma City, 92-79, on Nov. 16 in Brew City, as Durant posted 24 points in that one. Mayo netted 22 points for the Bucks, who have lost nine of 12 and 17 of the last 21 road meetings in this series.