Oklahoma City Thunder (28-29) vs. Utah Jazz (29-31)
February 23, 2023 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Utah Jazz -2.5; Over/Under: +239.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Utah Jazz do battle at the Vivint Arena on Thursday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been in pretty good form as they’ve won four of their last six games overall and they will be eager to stay hot after destroying the Rockets in a 133-96 win last Wednesday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 29 points and six assists, Luguentz Dort added 15 points while Josh Giddey chipped in with 13 points and six assists. As a team, the Thunder shot 48 percent from the field and nine of 34 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 38 points in the first quarter to jump out to an early double-digit lead that only grew as the game wore on. The Thunder were so dominant in this one that they were able to rest their starters early.
Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz have been in poor form as they’ve lost five of their last seven games overall and they will be hoping to bounce back after falling just short to the Grizzlies in a 117-111 road loss last Wednesday. Kelly Olynyk led the team with 28 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, Jordan Clarkson added 20 points with nine rebounds and six assists while Ochai Agbaji chipped in with 17 points. As a team, the Jazz shot 46 percent from the field and 12 of 36 from the 3-point line, but they even though they had the better of the second half, they were always fighting an uphill battle after allowing the Grizzlies to pour in 38 points in the first quarter.
Looking at the betting trends, the Thunder are 44-21-1 ATS in their last 66 road games, 36-17-1 ATS in their last 54 games against a team with a losing record and 13-5-1 ATS in their last 19 games overall. The Jazz are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games following a loss, 5-1 ATS in their last six games against a team with a losing record and 3-0-1 ATS in their last four games overall.
Head to head, the under is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings overall, the Thunder are 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings in Utah and the Thunder are 12-4 ATS in the last 16 meetings overall.
The Thunder are still missing Aleksej Pokusevski, while the Jazz are keeping eyes on Collin Sexton and Rudy Gay who are both day to day. The Thunder were able to head into the All-Star break with plenty of momentum after dismantling the Rockets in their last outing, while the Grizzlies have really struggled to keep their heads above water with five losses in their last seven games overall. The Thunder are 12-4 ATS in the last 16 meetings overall and I’m backing that trend to continue as I expect the Thunder to be too good for this Jazz team who have been well below their best lately.
