Oklahoma City Thunder (28-29) vs. Phoenix Suns (32-28)
February 24, 2023 10:00 pm EDT
The Line: Phoenix Suns -8.5; Over/Under: +232.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Phoenix Suns play host to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Footprint Center on Friday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been in decent form as they’ve split their last eight games and they will be hoping to bounce back after falling painfully short to the Jazz in a 120-119 overtime road loss last night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 39 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, Josh Giddey added 18 points with 11 rebounds while Kenrich Williams chipped in with 16 points on seven of 10 shooting off the bench. As a team, the Thunder shot just 40 percent from the field and eight of 37 from the 3-point line as they blew a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, before watching the game slip away in overtime where the Jazz won the game on free throws with just 4.1 seconds left on the clock.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns have been in red-hot form as they’ve won 11 of their last 15 games overall, but they will be looking for a better performance after losing to the Clippers in a 116-107 defeat last Thursday. Josh Okogie led the team with 24 points on nine of 16 shooting, Devin Booker added 19 points with nine assists while DeAndre Ayton chipped in with 18 points on eight of 13 shooting. As a team, the Suns shot 47 percent from the field and 11 of 31 from the 3-point line as they kept pace with the Clippers in a close contest until the third quarter where they Clippers exploded for 37 points to pull away in the end.
Looking at the betting trends, the Thunder are 44-21-1 ATS in their last 66 road games, 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 games against a team with a winning record and 13-5-1 ATS in their last 19 games overall. The Suns are 5-1 ATS in their last six games playing on three or more days rest and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games against a team with a losing record.
Head to head, the Thunder are 9-4 ATS in the last 13 meetings overall.
The Thunder will be kicking themselves after falling just short to the Jazz in a heartbreaking overtime loss last night, but they won’t have much time to dwell on it as they ride into the Footprint Center to battle the new-look Suns. The Suns have quietly been one of the form teams of the league and I think they’ll get the win at home, but the line seems too hefty for this meeting, so I’m seeing some value on the Thunder with the points in this spot.
