Fifteen wins in their last 18 games have surged the Oklahoma City Thunder up the Western Conference standings. OKC is favored to continue its hot play Wednesday when it hosts a Raptors squad the Thunder beat 98-97 last month in Toronto. The Raps are coming off a 105-104 home loss to San Antonio on Sunday.
- Date/Time: January 15, 8 p.m. ET
- Arena: Chesapeake Energy Arena
- TV Coverage: Fox Sports Oklahoma, TSN
- Sportsbook Odds: Thunder -1 / O/U 215.5
- Raptors vs Thunder Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The home team has been favored in seven straight meetings, and that’s the case again here as OKC opened as 1-point chalk before being bet up to 2-point faves by Tuesday night. The total saw early movement to the UNDER, dropping 2 points from the opener of 215.5. Road teams have covered eight of the last nine meetings.
Toronto News & Notes
Forgive the defending champions for spinning their wheels to the tune of a 6-6 SU mark over their past dozen games. Toronto is slowly working its way back to full strength after being decimated by injuries to key players last month. Pascal Siakam (groin) and Norman Powell (shoulder) both returned from 11-game absences Sunday against the Spurs, and now Marc Gasol (hamstring) is expected to be back in the lineup against the Thunder. The Raps still remain without guard Fred VanVleet, who is nursing a hamstring injury of his own.
If Gasol does suit up, it’ll be interesting to see how Raptors coach Nick Nurse works the veteran into the lineup. Serge Ibaka has thrived since taking Gasol’s place as a starter, averaging 18.6 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and shooting 54 percent from the field.
Toronto’s defense hasn’t suffered much with its top players out, holding eight straight opponents to 105 points or less in regulation, but the offense is in need of a boost. Toronto has been held to 104 points or less in five of its last seven games (excluding overtime), well below the Raptors’ season average of 110.3 points per outing. Toronto has gone 6-2 to the UNDER in its last eight.
Oklahoma City News & Notes
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his emergence as one of the top young players in the NBA on Monday when he became the youngest-ever player to record 20 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a game. Gilgeous-Alexander’s big night lifted the Thunder to a 117-104 victory, OKC’s eighth win in 10 games and 12th in its last 15. Bettors have cashed in on the Thunder’s hot run as well, with Oklahoma City covering the number in nine of its last 10 and 21 of 29.
Expect Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging more than 23 points per game over his last 14 outings, to be primed for another big performance against his hometown Raptors. The 21-year-old native of Hamilton (an hour west of Toronto) scored 32 points when OKC beat the Raptors 98-97 on December 29, setting a record for the most-ever points by a Canadian against Toronto.
Teammate Danilo Gallinari should also come in with plenty of confidence after scoring 30 points against Minnesota on 8-for-12 shooting from the field and 11-for-12 from the free-throw line.
Betting Pick: Raptors +2
Three of Toronto’s last four losses have come by two points or less, and the Raptors are an undervalued commodity as they get back to full health.
- The UNDER is 6-2 in the Raptors’ last 8 games.
- The Thunder are 21-8 ATS in their last 29 games.
- The Raptors are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games at OKC.
