Oklahoma City Thunder (38-42) vs. Utah Jazz (36-43)
April 6, 2023 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Utah Jazz +5.5; Over/Under: +234.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Utah Jazz duke it out at the Vivint Arena on Thursday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been in a slump as they’ve lost six of their last eight games to fall to 10th place in the Western Conference standings and they will be hoping to arrest a three-game skid after getting beaten by the Warriors in a 136-125 road loss on Tuesday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 32 points and seven assists on 11 of 17 shooting, Jalen Williams added 19 points while Josh Giddey tallied 15 points with six rebounds and five assists. As a team, the Thunder shot 47 percent from the field and 11 of 32 from the 3-point line as they hit the ground running and poured in 79 points in the first half to build a 10-point lead, but the 3-pointers didn’t drop in the second half where the Thunder managed just 46 points to allow the Warriors to run them down with time to spare in the end.
Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz have been in a slump of their own as they’ve lost seven of their last eight games overall and they will be hoping to avoid a fourth straight defeat after coming up short against the Lakers in a 135-133 overtime loss on Tuesday. Kelly Olynyk led the way with 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Talen Horton-Tucker added 23 points with seven assists while Ochai Agbaji chipped in with 22 points. As a team, the Jazz shot 52 percent from the field and 15 of 33 from the 3-point line as they rallied back from a 14-point deficit in regulation, only to finish painfully short in overtime as the Lakers’ LeBron James made the game-winning layup with 27 seconds left on the clock.
Looking at the betting trends, the Thunder are 0-5 ATS in their last five road games, 0-6 ATS in their last six games against a team with a losing record and 0-8 ATS in their last eight games overall. The Jazz are 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.
Head to head, the under is 19-7 in the last 26 meetings in Utah, the Thunder are 6-2-1 ATS in the last nine meetings in Utah and the Thunder are 4-1-1 ATS in the last six meetings overall.
The Thunder are keeping an eye on Luguentz Dort who is questionable due to a right shoulder strain, while the Jazz will again be missing Jordan Clarkson, Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton. Both teams have been cold lately, so this is a game I’d rather stay away from, but the Thunder are 6-2-1 ATS in the last nine meetings in Utah and I think they can snap out of it with a much-needed win here.
