The Denver Nuggets enter Sunday's game vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder having lost seven of their last ten games, the latest of which was a heartbreaker against the Memphis Grizzlies that saw Denver fall on a last second tip-in after coming back from a 17 point halftime deficit. It will be the first time that the two teams have met since the Thunder vanquished the Nuggets in the first round of last year's playoffs, and it will find each team going in opposite directions, with the Thunder fighting for the Western Conference's top spot while the Nuggets hang onto playoff position for dear life.
The Nuggets have been ravished by injuries of late, and although Nene has been ruled out for Sunday's game, Denver may catch a small break. Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook is being called a game time decision after spraining his right ankle on Friday night in Oklahoma City's victory over the Golden State Warriors. If Westbrook, who has yet to miss a game in his NBA career, is forced to sit out, the point guard duties will fall on the shoulders of seldom used veteran Royal Ivey and rookie Reggie Jackson, which would be welcome news to Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson.
The Thunder may also be without starting center Kendrick Perkins, who missed Oklahoma City's last game with a right knee contusion. But the Thunder will definitely trot out MVP candidate Kevin Durant and James Harden, their electrifying sixth man, and that alone makes them terrifying enough.
Game time/date: 6:00 p.m. MT, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012
Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
TV: ESPN
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