Thunder return home to face Trail Blazers

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Coming out of the All-Star break, the Oklahoma City Thunder were on top of the world. After making trades that brought them Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott, they won three straight games and found themselves within a half a game of first place in the Northwest Division.

Then the Thunder went on the road and everything seemed to fall apart.

Oklahoma City dropped three consecutive contests away from Chesapeake Energy Arena. That included a 104-89 blowout in Dallas Sunday night. It was a game the Thunder were never threatened.

The loss once again has coach Billy Donovan preaching being more focused on defense. It's something he has not had to bring up for a couple of weeks.

"We have to have an awareness that it has to be a team defense of concepts," Donovan told NBA.com. "We all have to be in position to load and help," Donovan explained. "We have to have better built-in help. We also have to have better on-ball defense."

One of the reasons Oklahoma City signed guard Norris Cole to fill out its 15th roster spot was to improve its defense in the backcourt, along with providing a steady hand when Russell Westbrook goes to the bench.

Cole was signed right before the Thunder (35-28) went on its road trip so he has yet to experience a win in his new uniform. But being a veteran and two-time NBA champion has given him the experience to be patient and believe the turnaround will come.

"It's just a matter of doing what you have to do to win," Cole said. "You don't get tired of talking really, it's just making the necessary sacrifice. Everyone has to sacrifice. Being loud, talking and understanding where we need to be on defense, that's just something that has to happen. Every good defensive team communicates out there on the court. That's just the way it has to be."

Oklahoma City's current losing streak began with a down-to-the-wire loss in Portland less than a week ago. They will face the same Trail Blazers (26-35) Tuesday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. It's the third time the two squads have faced off since Feb. 5.

While the Thunder won their first matchup, in the second contest they had no answers for the Blazers backcourt. Even though Westbrook had a triple-double, it wasn't enough to counteract Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

Oklahoma City knows they can't allow the Portland duo to catch fire again or it could be a long night.

"One slip up and it's a score," Andre Roberson told NBA.com. "All five guys have to be on the same page and work together to stop the ball from going in the hoop. We have to come out ... with a lot of fire and a lot of energy to get back on track."

The Trail Blazers were supposed to be the second night of a back to back, but their game in Minnesota was postponed Monday due to condensation on the floor.

Portland coach Terry Stotts said the game will be made up because of the playoff implications. With the Blazers sitting just 1 1/2 games out of eighth place in the Western Conference, Portland needs every game it can get.

"There's added incentive for both teams," Stotts told The Associated Press. "Them and Dallas and Denver and us, Sacramento, New Orleans, all these games when you play each other, both teams know the significance of them."