The San Antonio Spurs welcome the Oklahoma City Thunder to the AT&T Center. Action begins at 9:30 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 25 and can be seen on ESPN, FSN-OK and FSN-SW.
The Spurs played well in their last game, blowing out the Hawks 114-95 on Sunday. Kawhi Leonard was a key piece, recording his 12th double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Thunder, meanwhile, are coming off a 93-75 win against the Heat on Sunday. Enes Kanter claimed his 23rd double-double of the season with 27 points and 12 rebounds.
Kanter has upped his play for the Thunder, averaging 17.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 0.6 steals over the past five games.
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Thunder winning the first matchup 114-106. Russell Westbrook put up 34 points and 11 assists.
The odds for San Antonio and Oklahoma City are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Spurs have gone 44-25 Straight Up (SU) and 32-35-2 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have had success covering the spread (7-3). The Spurs have no trouble scoring as they rank second in the league in home offense with 106.8 points per game. San Antonio is one of the best passing teams in the league with an average of 24.3 assists per game. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, the Spurs prevent teams from making three-pointers, ranking fourth in the league with 477 total three-pointers allowed (6.9 per game). San Antonio will look to take advantage of the Thunder and their propensity to foul. Oklahoma City ranks 29th in the league in fouls, averaging 22.3 per game.
As for their opponent, the Thunder have a record of 35-33-2 ATS and 40-30 SU. Against the Western Conference, Oklahoma City is 20-21 SU and 22-18-1 ATS. Offensively, the Thunder have really picked up the pace in the last 10 games. They have exceeded their season average of 103.2 points per game by averaging 111.9 during that stretch. The Thunder have controlled the glass with an NBA-best 47.7 per game. The Thunder average 100.3 points allowed per game, but have damaged those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 107.6 points per game during that span.
In their previous meeting this season, Oklahoma City beat San Antonio, bumping its SU record over the last 10 meetings to 6-4. Furthermore, the Thunder hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4. Oklahoma City held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice in the last 10 matchups. On the other side of the court, San Antonio never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – SA, ATS Winner – SA
Notes
Oklahoma City ranks eighth in points per game with 103.2, while San Antonio ranks ninth in points allowed with an average of 97.8 given up.
Oklahoma City scores an average of 100.5 points per away game (ranked 11th). San Antonio ranks 20th in points allowed per home game with 99.4.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Spurs are 30-9 on the season. When the Thunder score fewer than 100, they are a poor 7-18.
When the San Antonio Spurs allow at least 100 points they are 14-16, while the Oklahoma City Thunder are 33-12 when they register triple digits.
The Thunder have a defensive rating of 101.3 (ranked 11th). The Spurs rank seventh for their offensive rating of 105.0.
San Antonio averages fewer possessions per game than Oklahoma City, with 97.7 compared to 99.1. However, the Spurs score an average of 1.050 points per possession, more than the 1.042 that the Thunder score.
Ranked sixth in the NBA, San Antonio has an average effective field goal percentage of 51.1%. Oklahoma City is 10-14 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
San Antonio makes an average of 24.3 assists per game (ranked fifth), while Oklahoma City makes 20.8 assists per game (ranked 22nd).
San Antonio makes an average of 5.5 blocks per game (ranked seventh). Oklahoma City ranks higher in blocks with 5.9 (ranked sixth).
San Antonio ranks 26th in offensive rebounds, while Oklahoma City ranks second in defensive rebounds.
On average, San Antonio makes 7.9 steals per game. Oklahoma City has a winning 28-18 record when it allows at least 7 steals.
