Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Picks, Odds, Predictions 11/4/2021

The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Staples Center on Thursday night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have really struggled so far as they’ve lost six of their first seven games and they will be hoping to bounce back after falling just short against the Clippers in a 99-94 road loss on Monday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 28 points on 11 of 23 shooting while Darius Bazley and Josh Giddey each scored 15 points, but no other player finished in double figures in scoring. As a team, the Thunder shot just 38 percent from the field and 11 of 37 from the 3-point line as they took the early lead after holding the Clippers to just 14 points in the first quarter, before pouring in 30 points in the third quarter to lead by as many as 15 points, only to lose it all in the fourth quarter where Clippers outscored them by 33-20 to steal the game late. Mike Muscala had a night to forget as he scored just eight points on two of 12 shooting while Theo Maledon scored just seven points on three of 10 shooting.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers are starting to build some momentum in this one as they’ve won five of their past six games overall and they will be aiming for a fourth straight victory after taking down the struggling Rockets in a 119-117 home win on Tuesday. LeBron James led the team with 30 points and 10 assists on 13 of 21 shooting, Anthony Davis racked up 27 points with nine rebounds while Russell Westbrook tallied 27 points with nine rebounds and seven assists. As a team, the Lakers shot 52 percent from the field and just six of 25 from the 3-point line as they trailed for most of the game after allowing the Rockets to pour in 70 points in the first half, before taking over late as James scored 14 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to carry the Lakers over the line.

Looking at the betting trends, the Thunder are 1-7 ATS in their last eight road games, 11-25 ATS in their last 36 games as an underdog and 11-25 ATS in their last 36 games overall. The Lakers are 1-7 ATS in their last eight home games, 1-8-1 ATS in their last 10 games against a team with a losing record and 8-20-1 ATS in their last 29 games overall.

Head to head, the over is 4-0 in the last four meetings overall, the Thunder are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings overall and the Thunder are 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings in Los Angeles.

LeBron James and Dwight Howard are both currently listed as questionable for the Lakers while the Thunder could be without Luguentz Dort is questionable for the Thunder. These two teams last met on Wednesday and it was the Thunder who won by 123-115 after trailing by as many as 26 points early on. I’m not expecting the Thunder to win again, but I do think they hang around long enough to get the cover in this spot.