Oklahoma City @ Golden State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 9, 2019 ) Golden State 108, Oklahoma City 114

The Oklahoma City Thunder are losers of three straight but each of the three were tight losses to Western Conference contenders. The Thunder will try to snap the slide when they visit a team on the other end of the standings in the depleted Golden State Warriors on Monday.

Oklahoma City lost by a total of seven points at the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers before returning home and dropping a 130-127 decision to that same Lakers squad on Friday. "We tried to execute," Thunder point guard Chris Paul told reporters of the finish to Friday's contest. "They took away one of those last sets that we run, but that's what good teams do. They don't let you do what you want to do. We keep talking about it, for us we are going to learn how to get better at those situations, but like we said it would be nice to learn and win at the same time. That is what we got to figure out." The Warriors are returning from a four-game road trip that included a 142-94 loss at Dallas, but the young squad bounced back with a better effort in Friday's 113-109 setback at Utah. "We're not winning a lot of games, but we're competing and I'm proud of the guys," Golden State coach Steve Kerr told reporters. "I feel bad for them. We had a chance, but we couldn't quite get over the hump."

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, FS Oklahoma, NBCS Bay Area (Golden State)

ABOUT THE THUNDER (5-10): Oklahoma City shot 52.7 percent from the floor against the Lakers on Friday, led by 24 points on 10-of-19 from the floor from shooting guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The 21-year-old is enjoying a breakout season while leading the team with an average of 19.7 points but is among the Thunder players frustrated by the close losses. "It was a tough one," Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters after Friday's setback. "We've had a lot of those this year but it's something we'll all learn from and we'll get better from."

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (3-13): Golden State is expecting some reinforcements on Monday with the returns of Draymond Green (heel) and Kevon Looney (hamstring) but will still be without All-Star guards D'Angelo Russell (thumb) Stephen Curry (hand) and Klay Thompson (knee). The Warriors only had eight healthy players at Utah on Friday but overcame a 21-point deficit and pushed the Jazz down the stretch. "Fighting back instead of laying down was a good feeling, but we still didn't win," forward Omari Spellman told the San Francisco Chronicle. "We've just got to keep fighting, keep doing what the coaches ask of us and hopefully we can turn this thing around."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Warriors SG Alec Burks is averaging 20 points over the last three games.

2. Thunder SG Hamidou Diallo (elbow) left Friday's game and is day-to-day.

3. Oklahoma City already owns a pair of wins over Golden State this season, grabbing a 120-92 victory on Oct. 27 and a 114-108 triumph on Nov. 9 - both at home.

PREDICTION: Thunder 116, Warriors 103