Oklahoma City Thunder (31-34) vs. Phoenix Suns (36-29)
March 8, 2023 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Phoenix Suns -13.5; Over/Under: +236.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Phoenix Suns duke it out at the Footprint Center on Wednesday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been heating up again as they are now aiming for a fourth straight victory after taking down the Warriors in a 137-128 home win last night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 33 points and six assists on 14 of 24 shooting, Luguentz Dort added 18 points while Josh Giddey racked up a triple-double of 17 points with 11 rebounds and 17 assists. As a team, the Thunder shot 53 percent from the field and 17 of 37 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 40 points in the first quarter to take the early lead and they just never took their foot off the gas as they poured in 69 points in the second half to pull off the impressive victory.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns have been in fine form as they’ve won nine of their last 12 games overall and they will be gunning for a fourth straight victory after sneaking past the Mavericks in a 130-126 road win on Sunday. Kevin Durant led the team with 37 points, seven rebounds and three assists on 12 of 17 shooting, Devin Booker added 36 points with 10 assists while Chris Paul chipped in with 11 points and seven assists. As a team, the Suns shot 55 percent from the field and 12 of 34 from the 3-point line as they allowed 37 points in the second quarter to fall behind going into halftime, before they exploded for 71 points in the second half to escape with the gritty win.
Looking at the betting trends, the Thunder are 44-21-3 ATS in their last 68 road games and 0-5-1 ATS in their last six games against a team with a winning record. The Suns are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games against a team with a losing record, 2-5 ATS in their last seven games playing on two days rest and 4-0-1 ATS in their last five games overall.
Head to head, the over is 5-2 in the last seven meetings overall and the Thunder are 9-4-1 ATS in the last 14 meetings overall.
The Thunder are shorthanded again as Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are both listed as out, while the Suns are still missing Landry Shamet. The Thunder have sprung to life with three wins on the trot and they looked great in last night’s big win over the Warriors, but it’ll be tough to replicate that performance if Gilgeous-Alexander is indeed out for this one. The Suns have been on fire lately and they would’ve taken so much confidence from their gritty win over their rivals on Sunday, so I’ll back the Suns to continue their hot streak with another win here.
