Portland Trail Blazers (6-8) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (11-4)
November 20, 2024 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: Oklahoma City Thunder -12.5; Over/Under: +223.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Portland Trail Blazers and the Oklahoma City Thunder collide at the Paycom Center on Wednesday night. Here’s an Oklahoma City Thunder vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction. This article will include an Oklahoma City Thunder vs Portland Trail Blazers Pick.
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers have endured a slow start to the season, but things are starting to change for them as they are now gunning for a fourth straight victory after sneaking past the Hawks in a 114-110 home win on Sunday. Shaedon Sharpe led the team with 32 points and five assists, Dalano Banton added 23 points on nine of 19 shooting off the bench while Robert Williams chipped in with 13 points.
As a team, the Trail Blazers shot 46 percent from the field and 14 of 38 from the 3-point line as they struggled to match the Hawks in the early going and found themselves trailing at halftime before they took control of the contest with a dominant 38-17 in the third quarter to turn a 16-point deficit into a 14-point lead. The Blazers will meet the Rockets after this game.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder have cooled off a bit recently as they are now looking to avoid a third straight defeat after last night’s 110-104 defeat at San Antonio. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 32 points and seven assists, Jalen Williams added 27 points with 10 rebounds, six assists, and five steals while Cason Wallace chipped in with 13 points and seven assists.
As a team, the Thunder shot just 41 percent from the field and 16 of 53 from the 3-point line as they struggled to match the intensity of the Spurs early on and fell behind going into halftime before they got stomped by 33-20 in the third quarter to trail by as many as 21 points at one stage. The Thunder were able to make it somewhat interesting late in the contest as they cut the deficit to just six points with 2:42 left on the clock, but they will be disappointed with the result nonetheless.
Why the Oklahoma City Thunder will win
- The Thunder have won each of their last 13 games against Trail Blazers teams that held a losing record.
- The Trail Blazers have lost each of their last nine road games against Northwest Division opponents.
- The Thunder have covered the spread in five of their last six games on the second leg of a back-to-back against the Trail Blazers.
- The Trail Blazers have failed to cover the spread in five of their last six night games at Paycom Center.
Total Points Facts
- Nine of the Trail Blazers’ last 10 night games against Northwest Division opponents have gone OVER the total points line.
- Each of the Thunder’s last four games as favorites following a road loss have gone OVER the total points line.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Thunder rank 1st in the league for steals per game this season (12.1).
- The Thunder rank 1st in the league for turnovers per game this season (11.5).
- The Trail Blazers rank 30th in the league for true shooting percentage this season (53.4%).
- The Trail Blazers rank 29th in the league for assists per game this season (21.8).
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction
The Trail Blazers are still missing DeAndre Ayton and they have Anfernee Simons listed as questionable, while the Thunder are still missing Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. The Trail Blazers don’t have a record to boast about, but they have looked much better over the last week and they would’ve taken plenty of confidence from their gritty win over the Hawks on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Thunder started the season just running through teams by double digits, but they’ve cooled off since and just lost to the Spurs who were missing their best player. In no way do I think that the Trail Blazers can hang with the Thunder on a regular basis, but they’re playing well and they should be well rested as they haven’t seen the court since Sunday, so I’m willing to take the points against a Thunder team playing their second game of a back to back set.
