The Dallas Mavericks welcome the Oklahoma City Thunder to the American Airlines Center for Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Saturday, Apr. 23 and will air on ESP, FxK and TXA.
The Mavericks lost big to the Thunder 131-102 on Thursday. Dirk Nowitzki had a good game for the Mavericks, recording 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
The Mavericks look to build on their records of 43-42 Straight Up (SU) and 45-38-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 43-42 SU and 45-38-2 ATS against the Western Conference. Dallas has been on fire lately, averaging 111.3 points per game, well over their season average of 101.7.
Across the court, Oklahoma City has a SU record of 57-28 and an ATS record of 38-44-3. In Western Conference games, Oklahoma City has gone 57-28 SU and 38-44-3 ATS. Offensively, they average 111.4 points per game on the road, which is second in the league. The Thunder are a force on the boards, grabbing a league-best 48.7 rebounds per game. Switching gears to Oklahoma City’s defense, the Thunder have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the league at .437.
In their previous meeting this season, Oklahoma City beat Dallas, bringing its SU record in the past 10 games to 7-3. Additionally, the Thunder lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – OKC
Notes
Dallas has allowed an average of 102.8 points per game this season. Oklahoma City averages 110.1 points per game, ranking the team second in scoring.
Dallas ranks 20th in points allowed per home game (102.6 PPG), while Oklahoma City ranks second in points per away game with 111.4.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Mavericks are 29-7 on the season. When the Thunder score fewer than 100, they are an underachieving 3-14.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Mavericks are just 14-35 this season. Oklahoma City is a fantastic 54-14 when it hits the century mark.
The Mavericks have an offensive rating of 104.8 (ranked 12th). The Thunder rank 10th for their defensive rating of 103.0.
With 97.1 possessions and 1.048 points per possession, the Dallas Mavericks perform worse on both metrics than the Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma City averages 99.8 possessions and 1.104 points per possession.
Oklahoma City has an average effective field goal percentage of 52.4% (ranked fifth in the league}. Dallas is a subpar 6-25 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Dallas makes an average of 22.0 assists per game (ranked 18th). Oklahoma City ranks higher in assists with 22.9 (ranked 10th).
The Dallas Mavericks average 3.7 blocks per game for a rank of 30th. The Oklahoma City Thunder rank higher (sixth), earning 5.9 blocks each contest.
The Dallas Mavericks are among the worst offensive rebounding teams (ranked 26th), while the Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the NBA’s top defensive rebounding teams (ranked second).
On average, Dallas makes 6.8 steals per game. Oklahoma City has a solid 50-25 record when it allows at least 6 steals.
