Sacramento Kings vs Oklahoma City Thunder 12/28/21 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Oklahoma City Thunder pay a visit to the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center on Tuesday night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been in great shape as they’ve won four of their past five games overall and they will be hoping to stay hot after sneaking past the Pelicans in a 117-112 home win on Sunday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 31 points and five assists, Andrew Wiggins added 24 points on eight of 10 shooting while Jeremiah Robinson-Earl chipped in with 15 points. As a team, the Thunder shot 47 percent from the field and 13 of 36 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with their defense by holding the Pelicans to just 18 points in the first quarter to take an early 17-point lead, before holding off a late rally to escape with the narrow win.

Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings have been in a slump as they’ve lost seven of their past nine games overall and they will be hoping to snap a three-game skid after getting routed by the Grizzlies in a 127-102 home loss on Sunday. Tyrese Haliburton led the team with 18 points and seven assists, Damian Jones and Terence Davis each scored 15 points while De’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes each scored 12 points. As a team, the Kings shot 42 percent from the field and 10 of 29 from the 3-point line as they kept pace with the Grizzlies until the third quarter where the second half where they were outscored by 78-52.

Looking at the betting trends, the Thunder are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games against a team with a losing record, 4-0 ATS in their last four road games and 19-7 ATS in their last 26 games overall. The Kings are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games against a team with a losing road record, 5-11 ATS in their last 16 games following a loss and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall.

Head to head, the under is 4-1 in the last five meetings overall and the over is 9-3 in the last 12 meetings in Sacramento.

The Thunder already have a few players sitting out including Darius Bazley and Tre Mann, while Jeremiah Robinson-Earl has now been placed into the league’s health and safety protocols, while the Kings are just about at full strength except for Davion Mitchell and Alex Len. It’s hard to back either side with much confidence, but the Thunder are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games against a team with a losing record and I think they can at least keep this one close against a slumping Kings team.