The Oklahoma City Thunder (55-26) will finish out the regular season on the road when they clash against the San Antonio Spurs (65-15) at the AT&T Center. Action starts at 8:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Apr. 12 and can be seen on TNT and FxK.
The Spurs are expecting a better outcome after their 92-86 loss to the Warriors on Sunday. Despite the loss, LaMarcus Aldridge earned his 26th double-double this season with 24 points and 10 rebounds. The Thunder, meanwhile, are coming off a 112-79 win over the Lakers on Monday. Kevin Durant was the game’s top scorer, posting 34 points on 11-for-18 shooting.
This matchup figures to be a high-scoring affair as the Spurs rank third in the NBA in offensive efficiency (109.1), while the Thunder are second (110.5). Also, the Thunder’s second-ranked offense (offensive efficiency of 110.5) will face off against the first-ranked defense of the Spurs (defensive efficiency of 97.1).
The Thunder have won two out of three against the Spurs this season, including a decisive 111-92 victory in their last matchup. Russell Westbrook had a standout performance in the victory, putting up 29 points, six rebounds, eight assists, and one steal.
The Spurs enter the game with records of 65-15 Straight Up (SU) and 43-37 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 65-15 SU and 43-37 ATS against teams from the Western Conference. The most recent ten-game stretch for the Spurs has gone great. Over that span, San Antonio is averaging 111.7 points per game, well over their season average of 103.7. The Spurs are one of the best in the NBA in terms of free throw percentage, shooting an impressive .804 from the free throw line. No team in the league has a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than San Antonio, which tops the league at 1.97. Below average play has been the norm lately for the San Antonio defense. The Spurs have given up an average of 102.1 points to opponents in their last 10 games, well over their defense’s season average of 92.9 PPG. Teams have to fight for three-pointers against the Spurs, who allow the fewest opponent three-pointers made in the league at 523 (6.0 per game).
On the other side, the Thunder head into the game with records of 35-43-3 ATS and 55-26 SU. Oklahoma City has been particularly bad ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 2-8. The Thunder will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent offensive struggles. In their most recent 10 games, Oklahoma City’s scoring has dropped to 99.0 PPG, compared to 103.7 for the duration of the season. The Thunder are a force on the boards, grabbing a league-best 48.5 rebounds per game.
Oklahoma City won the last meeting this season between these two teams, taking the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over the past 10 meetings. The Thunder lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – SA
Notes
“San Antonio is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games “.
“San Antonio is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 16 of San Antonio’s last 24 games “.
“San Antonio is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home”.
“San Antonio is 24-1 SU in its last 25 games at home”.
“San Antonio is 7-16-1 ATS in its last 24 games when playing Oklahoma City”.
“San Antonio is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Oklahoma City”.
San Antonio ranks 10th in points per game with 103.7, while Oklahoma City ranks 15th in points allowed with an average of 103.0 given up.
Oklahoma City ranks second in points allowed per road game (106.3 PPG), while San Antonio ranks 11th in points per home game with 105.2.
In its last game, Oklahoma City won by a 33-point margin. San Antonio is 26-3 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Oklahoma City has a 20-1 record in blowouts.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have an outstanding 29-5 record when their opponents score fewer than 100 points this season. The San Antonio Spurs are 17-12 when they score less than 100.
When the Oklahoma City Thunder allow at least 100 points they are 26-21, while the San Antonio Spurs are 48-3 when they reach the century mark.
The Spurs have the best defense in the NBA, with a defensive rating of 97.1. The Thunder’s offense ranks a solid second, with an offensive rating of 110.5.
Oklahoma City is ranked third in the NBA with an average field goal percentage of 47.7%. San Antonio is an even 8-8 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
In comparison to the rest of the league, the San Antonio Spurs see similar results in both field goal percentage and effective field goal percentage, ranking second for both metrics. The Oklahoma City Thunder also rank the same for both FG% and EFF%, coming in at third.
San Antonio ranks near the top of the league in assists at third (24.6 assists per game). Oklahoma City is ranked 10th, with 23.0 assists per game.
Oklahoma City ranks near the top of the league in blocking at fourth (6.0 blocks per game). San Antonio is ranked sixth, with 5.9 blocks per game.
The San Antonio Spurs rank 25th in offensive rebounding, while the Oklahoma City Thunder rank second in defensive rebounding.
On average, San Antonio makes 8.2 steals per game. Oklahoma City has a winning 35-18 record when it gives up at least 8 steals.
