Oklahoma City Thunder vs Portland Trail Blazers NBA Picks, Odds, Predictions 2/16/21

The Portland Trailblazers invade the Chesapeake Energy Center to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.

The Portland Trailblazers have been in great form lately as they’ve won six of their past seven games and they will be gunning for a season-high fifth straight victory after outlasting the Mavericks in a 121-118 road win on Sunday. Damian Lillard led the team with 34 points and 11 assists, Robert Covington and Carmelo Anthony each scored 15 points while Gary Trent Jr chipped in with 17 points on six of 13 shooting. As a team, the Trailblazers shot 52 percent from the field and 18 of 40 from the 3-point line as they looked to be in trouble after squandering a 14-point lead, but it was Lillard to the rescue as he delivered once again with a clutch go-ahead 3-pointer with just 32.8 seconds remaining.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been in a bit of a rut lately as they’ve lost six of their past nine games, but they will be hoping to build some momentum now after upsetting the Bucks in a 114-109 home win on Sunday. Justin Jackson led the team with 22 points and five assists on nine of 16 shooting, Al Horford added 20 points with nine assists, Luguentz Dort scored 19 points while Darius Bazley chipped in with 18 points. As a team, the Thunder shot 47 percent from the field and 15 of 36 from the 3-point line as they surrendered a 12-point lead before going on a pivotal 12-4 run late in the fourth quarter to escape with the much-needed win.

Looking at the betting trends, the Trailblazers are 7-2 ATS in their last nine road games, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record and 4-0 ATS in their last four games overall. The Thunder are 3-7-1 ATS in their last 11 home games, 5-0 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 4-0-1 ATS in their last five games overall.

Head to head, the under is 27-12-2 in the last 41 meetings in Oklahoma City.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss his fourth consecutive game with a sprained left knee, so the Thunder will be shorthanded once again, while the Trailblazers are still missing key players in Jusuf Nurkic, Rodney Hood and CJ McCollum. The Thunder looked great in their tough win over the Bucks, but it’s hard to imagine them repeating that performance against a red-hot team like the Trailblazers. I think the Trailblazers stay hot with another win behind a big game from Lillard.