The Oklahoma City Thunder (44-21) travel to San Antonio to take on the Spurs (55-10) in a matchup that pits the second-ranked offense against the first-ranked defense. The game gets underway at 8:30 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 12 and will air on ABC.
The Spurs were victorious over the Bulls 109-101 on Thursday. Kawhi Leonard was the game’s high scorer with 29 points on 10-for-15 shooting. The Thunder, meanwhile, are coming off a bitter 99-96 loss at the hands of the Timberwolves on Friday. Enes Kanter had a solid game, posting his 16th double-double of the season with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
LaMarcus Aldridge has been playing at a high level as of late for the Spurs, averaging 26.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steal, and 2.0 blocks over the last five games.
This matchup figures to be a high-scoring affair as the Spurs rank third in the NBA in offensive efficiency (109.5), while the Thunder are second (110.0). Also, the Thunder’s second-ranked offense (offensive efficiency of 110.0) will face off against the first-ranked defense of the Spurs (defensive efficiency of 96.1).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Thunder won the first game 112-106. Russell Westbrook played a big role with 33 points and 10 assists.
The Spurs are attempting to build on their records of 55-10 Straight Up (SU) and 39-26 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 55-10 SU and 39-26 ATS versus the Western Conference. San Antonio has been steady from the free throw line, shooting a stellar .802. The Spurs, sporting the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA (1.98), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team. Turning to the defensive side, the Spurs have limited opponents’ efforts from beyond the arc, allowing an NBA-low 412 three-pointers made or 6.0 per game.
On the other side, Oklahoma City has a SU record of 44-21 and an ATS record of 25-37-3. Although they’ve done very well in road games against divisional foes (4-2), Oklahoma City sports a lackluster 3-3 record ATS. The Thunder are a force on the boards, grabbing a league-best 48.2 rebounds per game.
With the Thunder’s last win against San Antonio, Oklahoma City is still behind in the head-to-head record over the past 10 meetings, 4-6 SU. The Spurs also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – SA
Notes
“San Antonio is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games “.
“San Antonio is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 7 of San Antonio’s last 9 games “.
“San Antonio is 15-8 ATS in its last 23 games at home”.
“San Antonio is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home”.
“San Antonio is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home”.
“San Antonio is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Oklahoma City”.
“San Antonio is 7-14-1 ATS in its last 22 games when playing Oklahoma City”.
“San Antonio is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Oklahoma City”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Antonio’s last 5 games when playing Oklahoma City”.
“San Antonio is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Oklahoma City”.
“The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Antonio’s last 7 games when playing at home against Oklahoma City”.
Oklahoma City’s offense and San Antonio’s defense are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per game and points allowed per game respectively. Oklahoma City scores an average of 0.0 points per game, while San Antonio gives up 0.0 points per game.
Oklahoma City and San Antonio are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per away game and points allowed at home respectively. Oklahoma City puts up an average of 0.0 points on the road, while San Antonio gives up 0.0 points at home on average.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the San Antonio Spurs are a superb 46-4. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a subpar record of 3-10.
San Antonio is 9-6 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Thunder have a stellar 41-11 record when they hit the century mark.
The Spurs have the third-best offensive rating in the NBA (109.5). The Thunder are also in the top half of the league based on their defensive rating of 103.4 (ranked 13th).
Oklahoma City beats San Antonio in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Thunder average 99.9 possessions and 1.100 points per possession, while the Spurs average 95.6 possessions with 1.095 points per possession.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking third in the league with an EFF% of 52.2%. The San Antonio Spurs have split their games 6-6 when opponents have a similar or higher EFF%.
San Antonio ranks near the top of the league in assists at third (25.1 assists per game). Oklahoma City is ranked ninth, with 22.8 assists per game.
With 6.2 blocks per game, the Oklahoma City Thunder rank third in the league. The San Antonio Spurs are in the top half of NBA teams for blocking, ranking fourth with 6.0 blocks per game.
The San Antonio Spurs rank 25th in offensive rebounding, while the Oklahoma City Thunder rank third in defensive rebounding.
On average, San Antonio makes 8.2 steals per game. Oklahoma City has a winning 27-14 record when it gives up at least 8 steals.
