PREMIUM
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(NBA) Golden State vs. Oklahoma City,
Point Spread: -4.50 | -107.00 Oklahoma City (Home)
Result: Loss
Point Spread: -4.50 | -107.00 Oklahoma City (Home)
Result: Loss
The set-up: The NBA's regular season ends April 11th and the 45-33 OKC Thunder are just a half-game back of the Spurs for the West's No. 4 seed (the last one which comes with a homecourt advantage) but they are also just one game up on the T-wolves (the current No. 7 seed) and 1 1/2 games clear of the 8th-seeded Pelicans. The Thunder had dropped three straight games by a total of just eight points before figuring things out down the stretch on Sunday by snapping their slide with a 109-104 win at New Orleans. OKC and Golden State have no love between them and while the Warriors are
locked into the No. 2 spot in the West, when they visit OKC tonight, they have plenty to play for. Most importantly, they are trying to find a rhythm again now that Kevin Durant (ribs), Klay Thompson (thumb) and Draymond Green (pelvic contusion) are back in the lineup together plus the team also wants to make sure that neither Toronto nor Boston catch them for the NBA's second-best overall record. The Warriors will not own the homecourt edge against the Rockets but they sure do not want to lose that distinction to an East team!
Golden State: Durant (26.3-6.8-5.4) was ejected in his first game back vs/ the bucks but has led the way in back-to-back wins while averaging 28 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists against Sacramento and Phoenix. Thompson (19.9) is playing with his thumb wrapped but it doesn't seem to be hampering his shooting stroke, as he is 20-of-38 from the floor over the last two games. Heading into this game, Curry (26.4-5.1-6.1 will miss his sixth consecutive game with a sprain of his left medial collateral ligament, guard Patrick McCaw is also out after a scary Saturday night injury that left him with a lumbar spine contusion, as is forward Omri Casspi with a right ankle sprain. Super-sub Andre Iguodala (knee soreness) and Kevon Looney (flu) are listed as doubtful, while Durant (rib soreness) and Thompson (fractured right thumb) are both listed as probable. That's more than a few "ifs."
Oklahoma City: "This is a huge win," Paul George told reporters after the Thunder beat the Pelicans on Sunday. "This is a great win, playing against an opponent who is in the same position for us. A must win for both teams. It was a step in the right direction for us to pick up a game like this on an opponent's floor." However, George (21.6 & 5.7) is shooting just 33.3 percent from the floor over the last five games and was just 9-of-24 on Sunday. Westbrook (25.4-9.8-10.2) recorded a triple-double with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists on Sunday, breaking out of his own shooting slump by going 9-of-17 from the floor. Carmelo Anthony (16.3 & 5.8) completes OKC's "trio of stars," a group which has so far, underachieved (the playoffs will have the last say).
The pick: The Thunder won the first two meetings thi season but the Warriors took the most recent meeting, 112-80 at home back on Feb. 24. OKC has looked shaky as of late (again!) but while the Warriors are off their first back-to-back SU wins in almost a month, their 'victims' were the 25-53 Kings and the NBA-worst Suns (19-59). Impossible to ignore Golden State's 4-12 ATS run since. ate Feb. Make OKC an 8* play.
locked into the No. 2 spot in the West, when they visit OKC tonight, they have plenty to play for. Most importantly, they are trying to find a rhythm again now that Kevin Durant (ribs), Klay Thompson (thumb) and Draymond Green (pelvic contusion) are back in the lineup together plus the team also wants to make sure that neither Toronto nor Boston catch them for the NBA's second-best overall record. The Warriors will not own the homecourt edge against the Rockets but they sure do not want to lose that distinction to an East team!
Golden State: Durant (26.3-6.8-5.4) was ejected in his first game back vs/ the bucks but has led the way in back-to-back wins while averaging 28 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists against Sacramento and Phoenix. Thompson (19.9) is playing with his thumb wrapped but it doesn't seem to be hampering his shooting stroke, as he is 20-of-38 from the floor over the last two games. Heading into this game, Curry (26.4-5.1-6.1 will miss his sixth consecutive game with a sprain of his left medial collateral ligament, guard Patrick McCaw is also out after a scary Saturday night injury that left him with a lumbar spine contusion, as is forward Omri Casspi with a right ankle sprain. Super-sub Andre Iguodala (knee soreness) and Kevon Looney (flu) are listed as doubtful, while Durant (rib soreness) and Thompson (fractured right thumb) are both listed as probable. That's more than a few "ifs."
Oklahoma City: "This is a huge win," Paul George told reporters after the Thunder beat the Pelicans on Sunday. "This is a great win, playing against an opponent who is in the same position for us. A must win for both teams. It was a step in the right direction for us to pick up a game like this on an opponent's floor." However, George (21.6 & 5.7) is shooting just 33.3 percent from the floor over the last five games and was just 9-of-24 on Sunday. Westbrook (25.4-9.8-10.2) recorded a triple-double with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists on Sunday, breaking out of his own shooting slump by going 9-of-17 from the floor. Carmelo Anthony (16.3 & 5.8) completes OKC's "trio of stars," a group which has so far, underachieved (the playoffs will have the last say).
The pick: The Thunder won the first two meetings thi season but the Warriors took the most recent meeting, 112-80 at home back on Feb. 24. OKC has looked shaky as of late (again!) but while the Warriors are off their first back-to-back SU wins in almost a month, their 'victims' were the 25-53 Kings and the NBA-worst Suns (19-59). Impossible to ignore Golden State's 4-12 ATS run since. ate Feb. Make OKC an 8* play.
