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The Philadelphia 76ers continue to struggle early in games, and now they have to try and get a jump on the motivated Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder look to bounce back from their second loss in 10 games Saturday night when they visit the 76ers.

A showdown with the fast-starting defending Western Conference champs doesn't appear to be coming at a good time for Philadelphia.

While the 76ers (7-5) have trailed after one quarter in nine of their 12 games, Oklahoma City (9-4) has raced out to first-quarter leads in each of its last seven contests.

"It could get pretty ugly pretty fast (against the Thunder)," Philadelphia guard Jrue Holiday said. "We can't look at it like, if it's not one of the best teams, we know we can come back on them. We have to start out games like we're playing the best team."

Oklahoma City jumped out to a 28-21 first-quarter lead on Friday night, but couldn't sustain it in a 108-100 loss at Boston that snapped the team's three-game winning streak.

Kevin Durant, second in the NBA in scoring (25.4), stayed hot with a game-high 29 points. The league's reigning scoring champ is averaging 30.0 points over his last five games.

Serge Ibaka added 17 points and 13 rebounds for his second straight double-double. He's had at least two blocks in every game, averaging a league-best 3.4.

Russell Westbrook, who had 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds on Friday, will look to continue his success against the 76ers. The All-Star has averaged 26.7 points and 9.3 assists in the last three meetings, though he's had exactly seven turnovers each time.

Still, Oklahoma City has won six straight against Philadelphia. Durant has certainly done his part, averaging 29.4 points in the five during that stretch he's played in.

"We've always been a good bounce-back team," coach Scott Brooks told the team's official website. "There's no reason for us to stop doing that."

The 76ers are focused on getting things going earlier after another slow start Wednesday night. They fell behind 28-15 after 12 minutes in a 92-83 loss at Cleveland that halted their three-game winning streak.

Coach Doug Collins has hinted at possible changes to the lineup recently, and he didn't back off after his team's poor first half against the Cavaliers.

"If we dig ourselves a hole, our rotations change, you start going to the bench sooner and then you end up chasing the game," Collins said. "It's like oversleeping by 30 minutes."

The 76ers couldn't dig out of their hole against Cleveland despite 16 points each from Holiday and Jason Richardson. They had five players in double figures, but shot just 36.0 percent from the field and 4 of 17 from beyond the arc.

Philadelphia ranks near the bottom of the league in scoring (89.8) and field-goal percentage (41.1).

Holiday, though, is having a breakout season with a team-best 18.4 points per game while ranking among the NBA leaders with 8.6 assists.

He's averaged 19.0 points and 7.0 assists in his last three games against the Thunder while shooting 53.8 percent.

The 76ers will try to bounce back with three consecutive games at the Wells Fargo Center, where they've won three in a row.