Thunder's Collison to return Friday vs. Kings

Little by little, the Oklahoma City Thunder are returning to health.

Backup power forward Nick Collison will return Friday from an ankle injury and come off the bench, Royce Young of ESPN reports. 

Collison had missed the Thunder's past eight games after twisting his ankle in a game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Collison's return coincides with the Kings' injury woes, as both DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay are out Friday. That paves the way for the Thunder to pick up what should be an easy win to keep abreast of the New Orleans Pelicans in the West standings.

The 34-year-old Collison has averaged 4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per game this season.