The Oklahoma City Thunder welcome the Boston Celtics to Chesapeake Energy Arena. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Sunday, Nov. 15 and can be seen on CNE and FxK.
The Thunder enter this game hoping for similar success after topping the 76ers 102-85 on Friday. Oklahoma City was lifted by Russell Westbrook, who finished with 21 points, 17 rebounds, and 11 assists. This gave him his second triple-double of the year. The Celtics, meanwhile, are coming off a 106-93 win against the Hawks on Friday. Amir Johnson had a good game for Boston, registering 19 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
The Thunder are a six-point favorite against Boston and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 209 points. The Thunder come into this game 6-3 Straight Up (SU) and 5-4 Against The Spread (ATS). Although they have struggled to cover the spread against the East (2-3), they’ve won fairly consistently (3-2). The rebounding edge goes to the Thunder in this matchup, who average a league-best 50.8 rebounds per game. Crossing over to the defensive end of the court, the Thunder prevent teams from making three-pointers, ranking fifth in the league with 64 total three-pointers allowed (7.0 per game).
As for their opponent, the Celtics have 4-4 SU and ATS records. The Celtics convert their free throws at a high percentage, ranking third in the league at .816. Moving on to Boston’s defense, teams with weak ball handling have not fared well against the Celtics, who lead the league with 11.2 steals per game.
These two will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their previous head-to-head meeting, Oklahoma City came out on top, bumping its SU record to 8-2 over the Celtics in their last 10 meetings. The Thunder also lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – OKC, ATS Winner – OKC, O/U – Over
Notes
Oklahoma City is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Oklahoma City’s last 7 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oklahoma City’s last 6 games at home.
Oklahoma City is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home.
Oklahoma City is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Boston.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Oklahoma City’s last 7 games when playing Boston.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Oklahoma City’s last 6 games when playing at home against Boston.
Oklahoma City is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Boston.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are among the highest-scoring squads, earning an average of 113.3 points per game (ranked second), while the Boston Celtics are in the top half of NBA teams in points allowed with 97.4 (ranked eighth).
Oklahoma City averages 110.6 points per home game (ranked third). However, Boston has allowed an average of just 91.5 points per away game (ranked second).
Oklahoma City has a perfect 2-0 record when opponents score fewer than 100 points. The Celtics do not fare well when they score under 100, earning a 1-3 record in such games.
Oklahoma City is 4-3 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Celtics have a winning 3-1 record when they hit the century mark.
The Thunder have the second-best offensive rating in the NBA (109.7). The Celtics are also in the top half of the league based on their defensive rating of 96.3 (ranked fourth).
The Oklahoma City Thunder average 103.4 possessions and 1.097 points per possession in games this season. The Boston Celtics average fewer possessions with 102.7, as well as fewer points per possession with .991.
The Boston Celtics average an effective field goal percentage of 46.1% this season. The Oklahoma City Thunder are 3-2 when opponents have an EFF% of 46.1% or greater.
Oklahoma City makes an average of 23.2 assists per game (ranked sixth), while Boston makes 23.1 assists per game (ranked seventh).
The Oklahoma City Thunder top the league in blocking, with 8.1 made per game. The Boston Celtics average 5.1 blocks per game (ranked 15th).
The Oklahoma City Thunder rank second in offensive rebounding, while the Boston Celtics rank 25th in defensive rebounding.
The Boston Celtics average 11.2 steals per game, ranked first in the NBA. The Oklahoma City Thunder are an even 2-2 when they allow at least 11 steals.
