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Russell Westbrook

Wizards At Nets – Durant vs Westbrook: Who Will Win? Watch, Listen It Live Online

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BROOKLYN — Washington Wizards and the Brooklyn Nets will battle in the Eastern Conference matchup that will see former teammates Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook battling each other.

HOW TO WATCH AND LISTEN

  • What: Washington Wizards vs. Brooklyn Nets
  • Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
  • When and Time: Sunday, 6:00 PM ET January 3, 2021
  • Live Stream & TV Channels: TV: NBA TV, YES Network, NBC SPORTS WASHINGTON –
  • Watch on Amazon Fire TV, Firestick and get free trials from YouTube TV, Hulu Live TV, FuboTV, or Sling TV

Westbrook and Durant were former teammates during their playing time with the Oklahoma City Thunder before the former left to join the Golden State Warriors where he won two NBA titles.

On Sunday they will be suiting up for their second different team since their time in Oklahoma City.

Durant will join the likes of Kyrie Irving, Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, and DeAndre Jordan in the Nets lineup, while Westbrook will feature alongside Bradley Beal, Thomas Bryant, and Rui Hachimura for Washington.

Westbrook was rested for the 130-109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, which gave the Wizards (1-5) their first win of the season.

However, the All-Star point guard who is averaging a triple-double of 19.8 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 12.3 assists per game and shooting 42.1% from the field, will return to the court against Brooklyn (3-3).

Beal, who registered 31 points, seven assists, and three rebounds, in Friday’s win over the Timberwolves, enters this game averaging 31.2 points per game and shooting 47.8% for Washington this season.

Durant enters this game averaging 28.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game, while Irving is putting out 26.2 points, 5.6 assists, and 5.2 rebounds for the Nets.

Jarrett Allen leads the team in rebounds per game at 10.7, while fellow center Jordan is pulling down 7.5 boards per game and blocking 1.7 shots per contest for Brooklyn.

The matchup Sunday night is the first of two meetings this season between the two teams. The next meeting will be on January 31.

How To Watch Washington Wizards vs. Philadelphia 76ers On Firestick, Picks & Predictions

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Philadelphia, PA — The much anticipated NBA season opener between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Washington Wizards will finally get underway on Wednesday night when the pair battle at the Wells Fargo Center.

How To Watch Washington Wizards vs. Philadelphia 76ers Live On Firestick | OVER/UNDER 230.5 points

Fans can watch the game live on NBC Sports Philadelphia, as well as NBC Sports Philadelphia while you can listen to radio coverage on 97.5 The Fanatic/1500 AM. Live stream can also be followed via NBA League Pass and you can access this using several streaming devices, including the Amazon Fire TV, Firestick, or any smart devices.

The Philadelphia 76ers won two of the three matchups last season, including a 107-98 victory on Aug. 5. Wednesday night’s game tips off at 7 p.m. and the Sixers are starting as 7.0 point favorites.

According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, Philadelphia starts with a 59.7% chance of winning the game, while Washington starts with a 40.3% chance.

Doc Rivers & Russell Westbrook Making Debuts

The game will see coach Doc Rivers officially making his debut as the 76ers head coach, following his departure from the Los Angeles Clippers, while All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook – acquired from the Houston Rockets in exchange for John Wall in the offseason – will step out for the Wizards.

After being fired by the LA Clippers, Rivers was recruited by Philadelphia during the offseason to replace Brett Brown.

After struggling to form an effective partnership with James Harden in Houston, Westbrook is hoping to have a better understanding with All-Star Bradley Beal.

Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns: How To Watch, Picks & Predictions

“Obviously, I’m not the easiest guy to understand, whatever, watch play, whatever people may think,” said Westbrook. “A lot of times, the things that are made up, people don’t actually know me to be able to say anything about me or what I’m about or what I believe in.”

Beal is also looking to mesh with Westbrook.

“I’m not going to judge Russ on his previous relationships with guys on other teams,” Beal said. “I want to be able to put my foot in his shoes and be in the moment. I want to experience these things for myself.”

Philadelphia finished last season with a 43-30 overall record and went 31-4 at home while averaging 110.7 points per game and gave away 108.4.

Washington finished 25-47 overall and won just nine road games to finish 9-27 away from home.

“We want to compete every night,” Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said. “We’ve added some really good players. We’ve added some toughness, we’ve added some size, we signed back one of the best shooters in the world in (Davis) Bertans.”

INJURIES: 76ers: None listed.

Wizards: None listed.

NBA Christmas Day Schedule, Live TV Channels: Dec. 25

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MIAMI, FL – A well anticipated Christmas Day schedule awaits NBA fans on Tuesday, although there is no NBA Finals rematch this year.

However, there is a familiar matchup listed on the day’s schedule.

For the fourth consecutive year on Christmas Day, LeBron James will go up against the Golden State Warriors, although he will be wearing the colors of Los Angeles Lakers this time.

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This clash will see James facing off with Steph Curry and it headlines the five games slated for December 25.

The Lakers visit to the Warriors will be televised live by both ESPN and ABC and streaming on WatchESPN, starting at 8 p.m. ET.

In addition to James and Curry, the Christmas Day fixtures will see the likes of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Joel Embiid all in action.

Embed from Getty Images

The NBA Christmas Day Showdowns will tip off on ESPN and WatchESPN at Noon ET with the Milwaukee Bucks traveling to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks.

This is followed by Westbrook going up his former teammate James Harden when the Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Houston Rockets (3 p.m. ET), live on ABC and WatchESPN.

Boston Celtics will be hosting the Philadelphia 76ers on ABC and WatchESPN at 5:30 p.m. ET, before the Lakers visit the Warriors. Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz will close out Christmas Day in Salt Lake City (10:30 p.m. ET) on ESPN and WatchESPN.

Christmas Day 2018 – December. 25
Bucks vs. Knicks | Noon ET | ESPN and WatchESPN
Thunder vs. Rockets | 3 p.m. ET | ABC and WatchESPN
Sixers vs. Celtics | 5:30 p.m. ET | ABC and WatchESPN
Lakers vs. Warriors | 8 p.m. ET | ABC/ESPN and WatchESPN
Trail Blazers vs. Jazz | 10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN and WatchESPN

Oklahoma City Thunder v Houston Rockets: Christmas Day Fixture on WatchESPN

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HOUSTON, TX — Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets will lock horns in a Christmas Day fixture at the Toyota Center.

The game, which tips off at 3:00 PM ET, will be live on ABC and streaming on WatchESPN.

Thanks to guard Russell Westbrook and Paul George, the Thunder (21-11) are off to a very positive start to the season and they will be aiming to take down the Rockets for the second time this season.

Oklahoma City won Game 1 in this regular season 98-80 last month at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City with George getting 20 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and six steals.

Westbrook missed the first matchup with his former team-mate James Harden.

Oklahoma City has won their last four games to climb to second place in the Western Conference, but ESPN’s Basketball Power Index is giving Harden and Rockets a 58.5 percent to win this one at the Toyota Center.

Harden, the defending regular season MVP, enters this encounter averaging 32.0 points per game and shooting nearly 45 percent from the field.

The Thunder (21-11) have established themselves as the NBA’s premier defensive team and, thanks to the stellar play of Paul George, have won six of their last four games to climb to third in the West.

Houston (17-15) has won four of the last five games and six in the last ten outings, but is only eighth in a tightly-contested Western Conference.

Starting point guard Chris Paul has been officially diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain and will miss the game.

Paul picked up the hamstring problem Thursday night in the defeat to the Miami Heat and the injury will keep the guard out for at least two weeks.

Christmas Day 2018 (Dec. 25)

Bucks vs. Knicks | Noon ET | ESPN, WatchESPN

Thunder vs. Rockets | 3 p.m. ET | ABC, WatchESPN

Sixers vs. Celtics | 5:30 p.m. ET | ABC, WatchESPN

Lakers vs. Warriors | 8 p.m. ET | ABC/ESPN, WatchESPN

Trail Blazers vs. Jazz | 10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN, WatchESPN

Oklahoma City Thunder at Cleveland Cavaliers On WatchESPN

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CLEVELAND, Sporting Alert — Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers will battle in one of the featured NBA games on the schedule on Saturday, Jan. 20.

Coverage of this game from the Quicken Loans Arena will be live on ABC at 3:30 PM ET, while WatchESPN will provide the live online and mobile device streaming.

The Cavaliers (27-17) are sitting third in the Eastern Conference standings at the moment and have been struggling to find their best form in recent outings.

LeBron James and Co. battled out a 104-103 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, but lost four straight prior to that game and are 3-7 in the last 10 games overall.

Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder
Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder

“Once you accept something, regardless of what it is, I think you become comfortable with it,” Anthony said, according to ESPN. “You start putting your all into it, you start working on that role and on that acceptance, and it becomes fun.

“I think right now, after accepting that role, I think early in December, the game is starting to become fun again for me.”

Despite their recent poor form, Cleveland has been listed as that slight favorite to beat the Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City at home, according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.

Meanwhile, the Thunder (25-20) are beginning to get it together with even star forward Carmelo Anthony admitting recently that playing is “starting to become fun again,” after accepting his new role in the setup.

Oklahoma City is fifth in the Western Conference standings and has won three straight games and five of the last eight overall.

In other news, James enters this game needing just 25 points to become the seventh NBA player to score 30,000 career points.

“It would be cool,” Dwyane Wade said. “When I got 20,000 LeBron was … we was playing Cleveland and it was actually pretty cool that it happened in that moment and it would be cool to be, with me and Carmelo, to be there.

“This is an elite class for a guy to be in. I mean, 30,000 points is insane. I definitely want him to do it (Saturday) like everybody else.”

Westbrook Records Triple-Double, Thunder Top 76ers In 3OT

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PHILADELPHIA, Sporting Alert – Russell Westbrook recorded a triple-double and the Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Philadelphia 76ers 119-117 in three overtimes at Wells Fargo Center on Friday night.

Westbrook finished with 27 points, 18 rebounds and 15 assists to secure his 10th triple-double of the season. He made just 10 of his 33 shots from the field and 5 of 12 from the free throw line.

Carmelo Anthony had 24 points and seven rebounds and Paul George added 24 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Thunder (14-14), who blew a double-digit lead and needed extra periods to see off the home side, which rallied from a 17-point deficit.

Raymond Felton hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points and Steven Adams chipped in with 11 rebounds before fouling out for Oklahoma City, which won two straight.

Joel Embiid - Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers gets treatment on his back

Joel Embiid, who was bothered by an achy back, led Philadelphia with a game-high 34 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists, but also had seven turnovers.

JJ Redick scored 19 points, Dario Saric added 16 and Jerryd Bayless made 4-for-6 from 3-point attempt for the 76ers (14-14), who also dropped to .500 on the season.

Ben Simmons had 12 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds and four steals and Robert Covington ended with 11 points and 10 boards in the defeat.

Five Sixers players played 48 or more minutes, while four Thunder players played at least 45 minutes, with Westbrook leading the way with 52 minutes.

Andre Roberson, who played 33 points, had just four points, but managed to score the winner with 10 seconds.

The teams finished 94-94 at the end of regulation, before scoring 102 apiece at the end of the first overtime period.

Westbrook then scored 10 points in the second and third overtime periods to setup the win for Oklahoma City, which shot 42 percent from the floor and 43 percent from 3-pointers.

Philadelphia shot 44 percent from the floor, but was only 13-for-46 from long-range.

The 76ers won the rebounding battle 43-42 and out-assisted the Thunder 35-28.

WHAT NEXT?

The Thunder will visit the New York Knicks on Saturday.

Philadelphia 76ers are at the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.

FINAL SCORE: Sacramento Kings 94, Oklahoma City Thunder 86

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FINAL SCORE: Sacramento Kings 94, Oklahoma City Thunder 86

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Buddy Hield scored 21 points and Zach Randolph scored all 18 of his points in the second half, as the Sacramento Kings rallied to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 94-86 on Tuesday night.

Hield, who shot 7 of 9 from the floor and made all four of his 3-point attempts, also pulled down seven rebounds and had two steals in 28 minutes off the bench.

Randolph went 8 of 15 from the field and grabbed eight boards, while rookies Justin Jackson and De’AaronFox finished with 16 and 10 points, respectively off the bench for the Kings, who overcame a dismal start to snap their six-game losing streak.

Russell Westbrook paced Oklahoma City with 20 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals, but shot 7 of 21 and turned the ball over seven times.

Carmelo Anthony needed 17 shots to score 16 points, while he also grabbed seven rebounds.

Fellow newcomer Paul George needed 16 shots for his 12 points and he also had six rebounds and three steals for the Thunder (4-6), who were suffering their third straight loss.

Steven Adams finished with 14 points, six rebounds and a team-high five steals, while Jerami Grant ended with 10 points and six boards off the bench for Oklahoma City in the defeat.

The Thunder scored the first 10 points of the game and went on to build a 25-8 advantage late in the first quarter.

However, Westbrook and Co. were not able to hold on as Sacramento (2-8) rallied to win at home for the first time in four attempts this season.

After shooting just 16-percent in the first quarter, the Kings shot 70.6-percent (12 of 17) in the second quarter to outscore Oklahoma City 32-16 and went into the interval with a 42-41 lead.

Sacramento led 67-57 at the start of the fourth quarter before the Thunder cut the gap to 77-76 with 4:30 left to play.

But the home side scored six straight points to build the lead back to seven points and hold out down the stretch.

Overall, Oklahoma City shot 33.7 percent on 29 of 86 shooting.

Sacramento went 46.8-percent (37 of 79) from the field.

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Westbrook Grabs Triple-Double; George Held To 10; Thunder Beat Pacers

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Sporting Alert — Russell Westbrook collected his second triple-double of the season and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 114-96 on Wednesday night.

“We took a positive step tonight, really on both ends of the floor,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “I really thought our guys gave great effort defensively, and I thought we had some really great moments offensively.

“We shared the ball — 26 assists. We got a little bit stagnant in periods, but overall, I really liked the way we were trying to move the ball to one another. Just another step forward.”

With Paul George struggling against his former team before eventually fouling out with 10 points, Westbrook picked up the slack.

“That hasn’t happened often in my career,” George said. “Fortunate to have those guys carry me. They know how big this game was for me, and they went out and got it for me.”

Westbrook, the reigning MVP posted 28 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the Thunder (2-2), who scored 25 points off turnovers on Wednesday night.

“He was great tonight,” Donovan said of Westbrook. “Overall, I felt like he surveyed and managed the game and the floor, moving guys around. He did an exceptional job.”

Carmelo Anthony finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Steven Adams added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which had dropped its two previous games heading into this contest.

George, who joined the Thunder in a trade from Indiana in the summer, shot 4 of 8 from the field before fouling out with 6:15 remaining. He fell into early foul trouble and was limited to just 19 minutes.

Former Thunder shooting guard Victor Oladipo scored 35 points on 11 of 18 shooting with five 3-pointers and five rebounds to lead the way for the Pacers.

“Just another game I was trying to win,” Oladipo said. “I‘m locked in on just bringing it every night. I take them one game at a time. That’s what my focus is.”

“Victor’s been playing really well for us,” Pacers guard Darren Collison said. “He has a good flow.

“It’s good to have a player like that, that can get it going the way he’s been getting it going. Hopefully we get some wins with that and make us productive.”

Collison added 18 points and Thaddeus Young ended with 14 points for Indiana (2-3), which shot 33.7 percent in the defeat.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma City Thunder will visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday seeking to avenged the 115-113 defeat from last Sunday when Timberwolves’ Andrew Wiggins connected on a buzzer beating shot from near half-court.

Indiana Pacers will play host to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

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Westbrook, George, Anthony Star For Oklahoma City In Win At Denver

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DENVER, Sporting Alert — Paul George, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony all contributed significantly and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets 96-86 in NBA preseason action on Tuesday night.

Westbrook contributed 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting and seven assists in 26 minutes, while George featured for 35 minutes and finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, five steals and one block at Pepsi Center.

Another offseason addition, Anthony, posted 16 points and nine rebounds in only 16 minutes on the court for the Thunder, who finished their preseason fixtures with a 3-1 record.

“We’re where we wanna be right now,” George, who hit five 3-pointers in the win, said after the game.

“It was great to get three games with Russ and Carmelo, as well as the whole starting five to see what that feels like.

George, who played a lot of minutes with the youngsters and helped them pushed through a difficult period in the game, said he was delighted that things have not come easy for him.

“In that segment when we were stagnant I told the young guys stay with it, stay together and we got through it. We pushed through it.”

He added: “This is all new to me. I told coach I am happy that this is hard. I am happy that this is going to take some time for me.”

Josh Huestis added 15 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City, which opens its regular season campaign at the Chesapeake Energy Arena against the New York Knicks on Thursday, Oct. 19.

Live national coverage will be on TNT, with TNT Overtime streaming the game online as well.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, Will Barton led Denver off the bench with 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor overall, including four 3-pointers.

Barton also added five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 30 minutes.

Nikola Jokic posted 12 points, 11 rebounds and three assists over 23 minutes, while Gary Harris scored 11 points in the defeat for the Nuggets, who finished the NBA preseason fixtures 3-2.

Denver will open its 2017-18 NBA regular campaign away at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, Oct. 18.

NBA Playoffs 2017 First Round Matchups and TV Channels

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MIAMI, FL, Sporting Alert – The following are the complete matchups for the first round of the 2017 NBA playoff, which gets underway this coming weekend.

Live coverage and online streaming of this year’s NBA playoff will be on ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, NBA-TV ABC, WatchESPN, TNT Overtime and WatchABC.

After a busy 82 game regular season schedule, which concluded on Wednesday night, the Top 8 teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively, start their quest to win the NBA title this season.

Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics
Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics

EASTERN CONFERENCE BATTLES

The Boston Celtics will start as the No. 1 seed in the East after finishing ahead of defending champions Cleveland Cavaliers, who begin the playoffs as the second seed in the conference.

Boston will start the first round at home on Sunday, April 16 against the Chicago Bulls, who grabbed the No. 8 seed with a crushing win on Wednesday night.

Cavaliers forward LeBron James
Cavaliers forward LeBron James looks on

Cleveland will be in action on Saturday when it hosts the seventh-seeded Indiana Pacers, who also locked up their spot with a win on Wednesday night.

In other NBA playoff matchups in the Eastern Conference, No. 3 Toronto Raptors will face No. 6 Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, while No. 4 Washington Wizards entertains the 5th seeded Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

WESTERN CONFERENCE BATTLES

The Golden State Warriors, who finished the regular season with the best record in the league at 67-15, are the No. 1 seed in the West and will also have home-court advantage throughout the entire NBA playoff this year.

MVP and sharp shooter Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors
MVP and sharp-shooter Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors

Golden State begins its quest for another NBA title at home on Sunday against the traveling eight-seeded Portland Trail Blazers.

San Antonio Spurs (61-21), the only other team to win 60+ games this term, are the No. 2 seed in the West and they will open their postseason schedule against No. 7 Memphis Grizzlies in Texas.

Houston will serve as the opening location for the battle between No. 3 Rockets and No. 6 Oklahoma City Thunder.

Russell Westbrook OKC Thunder: NBA Scores
OKC Thunder guard Russell Westbrook reacts

This matchup will also feature the two leading candidates for this year’s regular season MVP, James Harden and Russell Westbrook.

After closing out the regular season with seven wins in a row, the Los Angeles Clippers have secured the No. 4 seed and will have home-court advantage in their series against the No. 5 seed Utah Jazz.

These two teams open their playoff series on Saturday night at STAPLES Centre.

EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF FIXTURES

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Chicago Bulls
(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs.(7) Indiana Pacers
(3) Toronto Raptors vs.(6) Milwaukee Bucks
(4) Washington Wizards vs.(5) Atlanta Hawks

WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF FIXTURES

(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (8) Portland Trail Blazers
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (7) Memphis Grizzlies
(3) Houston Rockets vs. (6) Oklahoma City Thunder
(4) LA Clippers vs.(5) Utah Jazz