When the Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors met earlier this season, it went right down to the wire. The Thunder look to complete the season sweep when they host Toronto on Wednesday night. OKC is a slight favorite on the Mybookie NBA odds.
Raptors vs Thunder NBA Spread & Game Preview
- When: Wednesday, 8 PM ET
- Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena
- TV: NBA TV
- NBA Odds: Oklahoma City Thunder -1 (Total 215.5)
Raptors vs Thunder Season Series
Oklahoma City beat Toronto 98-97 on Dec. 29. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a Toronto native, had 32 points, including the winner, and Chris Paul had 25 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Nerlens Noel added 13 points and Darius Bazley had 11 to help the Thunder win their fifth straight in Toronto. Gilgeous-Alexander made the go-ahead basket on a jump shot with 36 seconds left in the fourth quarter, then grabbed the rebound on a missed 3-pointer by Fred VanVleet. Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet each scored 20 points and Serge Ibaka had 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Raptors.All-time at the Thunder, Toronto is 8-15 but did win in Oklahoma City last season. The visiting team has won the last four meetings between the two teams.
Why Bet on Toronto?
Toronto is scuffling a bit of late in generally alternating wins and losses. It was upset 105-104 at home by San Antonio on Sunday. The Raptors blew an 18-point lead. Toronto is 4-6 since a five-game winning streak ended with a loss at Indiana on Dec. 23. The Raptors blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter against Portland last Tuesday, and needed overtime to win at Charlotte the following night. Then Sunday’s choke job. Coach Nick Nurse has lamented the fourth quarter defense of late.San Antonio’s comeback spoiled the returns of Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell, each of whom had missed 11 games since a Dec. 18 win at Detroit. Powell (left shoulder subluxation) started in his return on Sunday, scoring 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting with four 3-pointers, four assists and three rebounds. Siakam (strained groin) played well in 30, scoring 15 points with five rebounds, four assists and a pair of 3-pointers.
Kyle Lowry dished a season-high 15 assists on Sunday, adding 16 points. Serge Ibaka had 21 points and 14 rebounds. Ibaka is just the third player in Raptors history to record a double-double in eight straight games, joining Chris Bosh (five times) and Donyell Marshall.
Gasol back?
Center Marc Gasol (left hamstring) told reporters that he plans to play Wednesday vs. the Thunder. Gasol has been sidelined since initially injuring the hamstring back on Dec. 18. It’s unknown if Nurse will keep Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell in the starting lineup once Gasol is cleared. Chris Boucher will see his minutes reduced significantly with Gasol back.Lowry will play in his 526th game as a Raptor on Wednesday, moving him into third place on the franchise’s all-time games played list – behind only DeMar DeRozan (675) and Morris Peterson (542).
The Raptors currently rank third in the NBA averaging 17.6 fast-break points per game. The Thunder rank 30th in the league in that category (9.4 points per game), however they lead the NBA in fast-break points allowed (10.9 points per game).
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 110.33
- Field Goal Percentage: 44.52
- Three-Point Percentage: 36.78
- Free Throw Percentage: 79.80
- Total Rebounds: 46.31
Defense
- Total Score: 105.23
- Field Goal Percentage: 42.40
- Three-Point Percentage: 33.13
- Free Throw Percentage: 75.66
- Total Rebounds: 47.28
Why Bet on Oklahoma City?
The Thunder won 117-104 in Minnesota on Monday behind a historic game from Toronto native Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Gilgeous-Alexander had 20 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and 10 assists in his first triple-double. At 21 years, 185 days old, he became the youngest player in league history to record at least 20 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a game. Gilgeous-Alexander came in averaging 23.7 points in his previous 13 games but did much more than score in also matching his career best in assists.Gilgeous-Alexander is the fourth second-year player in NBA history to register a 20-20 triple-double. He joins Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Oscar Robertson. The only other guard to have a 20-20 triple-double in the past 30 seasons is former Thunder star Russell Westbrook.
The Thunder held a 63-60 lead at halftime. They went on an 11-2 run early in the third quarter and then a 10-3 burst midway through the third to push their lead into double figures. Danilo Gallinari continued to play well with 30 points and four rebounds. That’s three straight terrific games with at least 23 points and a combined 10 3-pointers made in that stretch. Steven Adams had 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Thunder.
Some Injuries
Forward/center Nerlens Noel missed his fifth consecutive game because of a left ankle sprain. Guard/forward Andre Roberson (left knee injury recovery) has yet to play this season. The Oklahoma City reserves have outscored opposing benches in 30 of the Thunder’s 40 games, with OKC earning an 19-11 record when that happens. The Thunder bench has the fourth-best bench scoring margin in the NBA (6.9), holding opponent reserves to the lowest scoring average (31.5) while ranking first in blocks.Oklahoma City has earned the second-best fourth quarter defensive rating (98.9) as well as the second-best +/- rating in OT (+30) thanks to a perfect 4-0 OT record. OKC is holding opponents to the fourth-fewest made shots from beyond the arc (10.9) on the fourth-fewest attempts (31.6).
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 109.15
- Field Goal Percentage: 46.60
- Three-Point Percentage: 34.12
- Free Throw Percentage: 79.53
- Total Rebounds: 43.75
Defense
- Total Score: 107.33
- Field Goal Percentage: 45.29
- Three-Point Percentage: 34.47
- Free Throw Percentage: 80.30
- Total Rebounds: 44.90
Raptors vs Thunder NBA Betting Trends
- Thunder are 7-2 SU in their last 9 games at home
- Thunder are 11-2 ATS in their last 13 games this season
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oklahoma City’s last 6 games played on a Wednesday
- Raptors are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games on the road
- Raptors are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games this season
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Toronto’s last 6 games against an opponent in the Western conference
