Thunder return home to face Hornets

Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Oklahoma City Thunder seem to be well on their way towards ending a playoff drought, the New Orleans Hornets enter tonight's showdown between these teams in danger of missing out of the postseason fray.

The injury-plagued Hornets head to the Ford Center, their one-time temporary home when displaced by Hurricane Katrina a few years back, in 11th place in the competitive Western Conference and five games behind Portland for the eighth and final playoff seed. A recent four-game losing streak has hurt the club's postseason chances, although New Orleans was able to end that slide with Monday's 135-131 triumph over visiting Golden State.

David West and Marcus Thornton each scored 28 points to pace the Hornets, while Darren Collison dished out a career-best 20 assists to go along with 16 points. The rookie's assist total tied Phoenix's Steve Nash for the most by an individual in the NBA this season.

West added 13 rebounds on the night, while Emeka Okafor also notched a double- double with 22 points and 11 boards. The Hornets outrebounded the Warriors by a 44-23 margin for the game in addition to shooting just under 59 percent from the field.

Peja Stojakovic scored 16 points for New Orleans before exiting in the third quarter with a strained groin. The veteran forward's status for tonight's matchup is uncertain.

In a tight game down the stretch, Golden State held a 123-121 lead with three minutes left before the Hornets ran off nine consecutive points. Thornton ended the rally with three layups as New Orleans took a seven-point advantage with 1:23 to play.

Golden State closed within one on back-to-back three-pointers from Stephen Curry, the second coming with 30.7 seconds remaining, but Collison sank a floater on the ensuing possession as the Hornets held on.

"We just wanted to execute down the stretch," Collison said. "We haven't been doing that down the stretch the last parts of the games we've been losing. It was important we get a good look at it."

While the Hornets have been struggling as of late, the Thunder have posted a sensational 14-3 record since January 29 to move into sixth place in the West standings, just a half-game back of fifth-seeded Phoenix. Oklahoma City has been especially tough at home during that span, having won seven of eight tilts at the Ford Center.

One of the Thunder's victories during its current strong stretch came against the Hornets in New Orleans back on February 3. That snapped a 10-game losing streak for Oklahoma City in this series, though, and the Hornets have prevailed in their last four matchups as the visitor versus the Thunder/Sonics franchise.

Oklahoma City returns home after completing a three-game road trip with Sunday's 108-102 verdict over Sacramento, with Kevin Durant amassing 27 points and eight rebounds to lead the way.

Russell Westbrook added 21 points and eight boards in the victory, the Thunder's fifth in its last six games, with rookie James Harden contributing 14 points off the bench.

Oklahoma City, which is 19-11 at the Ford Center this season, began its recent swing with a loss at Denver on March 3 before bouncing back with Friday's 104-87 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."

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