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Bet on NBA Thunder at Cavaliers Lines, Spread & Prediction in the Week 12

Bet on NBA Thunder at Cavaliers Lines, Spread & Prediction in the Week 12

Written by on January 8, 2025

Featured Sports Betting Odds, NBA News and Rumors

Without question, the marquee game around the NBA on Wednesday night is a potential Finals preview, as the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder visit the East-leading Cleveland.

The Cavaliers open the game as short favorites on the NBA odds in Week 12.

Spread/Total Subject to Change: Cavs -3 (total 228.5)
Expert Prediction: Cavs 111, Thunder 109
 

How to Bet on NBA Thunder at Cavaliers Lines & TV Info

NBA Moneylines: Cleveland -147 / Oklahoma City +120
When: Wednesday, 7 PM ET
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN+

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Oklahoma City Thunder Analysis

Cleveland and OKC are the only two teams in the NBA this season with at least 30 wins. The Thunder won their franchise-record 15th game in a row on Sunday, 105-92 over Boston, in another potential NBA Finals preview. Oklahoma City shut down Boston’s vaunted offense in the second half, holding the Celtics to 20% shooting from the field. They finished 9-of-46 from 3-point range (19.6%), the lowest mark since coach Joe Mazzulla took over in 2022-23.

The Thunder, who improved to 30-5, have not lost a game that counted in the standings since Dec. 1. Their loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup final does not count on the team’s record.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Superstar Gilgeous-Alexander was spectacular with 33 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals. It was his 20th 30-plus-point outing of the season, as well as sinking three or more triples for the 14th time this season. The 26-year-old is averaging 2.0 steals per game through 35 regular-season outings, and he has now logged a steal in 12 consecutive contests. The Thunder have been 17.1 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor (plus-16.9) than they’ve been with him off the floor (minus-0.2), with that being the third-biggest differential among players who’ve played at least 500 minutes.

Isaiah Hartenstein

Center Hartenstein had eight points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals. The big man has found his footing with the Thunder in his first season with the team as he’s averaging career highs in points (12.0), rebounds (12.2), assists (4.0) and blocks (1.4). Per 100 possessions, Hartenstein is averaging a career-best 6.1 assists per game.

Against Eastern Conference

The Thunder are 9-4 when trailing by double-digits this season, which would be the best such mark in the 29 seasons for which we have play-by-play data, topping that of the 2015–16 Warriors (12-8). With the weekend wins over the Knicks and Celtics, the Thunder are 11-0 against the Eastern Conference. The Cavs (winners of 10 straight overall) are 10-0 against the West.

The Rankings

OKC holds the No. 1 net ranking in the league (12.1) as well as the top defensive rating (102.7). The Thunder have held opponents under 100 points in 16 games this season, most such games in the NBA, and are 16-0 when doing so. No team in NBA history has ever finished the season with more steals than turnovers. The Thunder currently sits at 412 steals and 415 turnovers.

The Stats

The Thunder also lead the NBA in steals (11.8), deflections (22.3), opponent turnovers (18.8) and points off turnovers (23.3), while ranking t-4th in blocks (6.0). OKC has three players ranking in the top 10 in steals per game: Gilgeous-Alexander (3rd, 2.0), Jalen Williams (5th, 1.8), and Cason Wallace (6th, 1.8). In addition, OKC is making 81.4% of its attempts from the free-throw line, which ranks first in the NBA.

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Cleveland Cavaliers Analysis

Cleveland (31-4) enters on a 10-game winning streak following a 115-105 home win over Charlotte on Sunday – all 10 wins are by double digits, and the Cavs have become only the eighth team in league history to start 31-4 or better.

Darius Garland

Garland led Cleveland with 25 points on 8-for-14 from the field. It was the third time in their last five games that Garland finished with exactly 25 points. He only scored 30 total over their previous two games, but he had 23 assists during that stretch, which made up for the lack of scoring.

It was Garland’s team-best 19th game this season with at least 20 points. He ranks T-9th in the NBA this season in total assists (226) and T-13th in the NBA in APG (6.6) and he is 1 of 4 players this season with 100+ 3FGM on .430+ 3FG%. He is the only player in the NBA shooting at least .490+ FG%, .400+ 3FG% and .900+ FT%.

Donovan Mitchell

Fellow guard Mitchell was fairly quiet with 19 points, his second straight game with less than 20 points. However, it hasn’t negatively impacted the team, as they’ve won 10 straight games, with Mitchell scoring less than 20 in four of those. Jarrett Allen had a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Cleveland has not lost since Dec. 8 at Miami. Its lone home defeat was Nov. 27 against Atlanta.

Isaac Okoro

Starting small forward Okoro, who has been sidelined since Dec. 20 with a right shoulder sprain, was cleared to practice with no restrictions. Okoro had been taking part in limited contact workouts against assistant coaches. Reserve guard Sam Merrill missed his second game in a row Sunday with an ankle injury.

The Rankings

The Cavs rank 1st in the NBA in FG% (.504) and 3FG% (.404), rank 2nd in the NBA in PPG (122.5) as well as 2nd in the NBA (1st in East) in point differential (+11.8). Cleveland is also on pace to become the first team in NBA history to shoot .500+ FG% and .400+ 3FG% in a single season.

The 3 Pointers

Cleveland has made 10+ 3-pointers in a franchise-best 40-straight games, tied for the 8th-longest streak of 10+ 3-pointers made in NBA history. During this 10-game winning streak, Cleveland is outscoring its opponents by 16.6 PPG. It is the 3rd time in team history, Cleveland has outscored its opponents by 16.0+ PPG over a 10-game winning streak.

The Streak

The Cavs’ 10-game winning streak by at least 10 points each is a franchise record and tied the NBA record for most consecutive wins by 10+ PTS. Cleveland’s matchup with OKC (15-game winning streak) will be just the 3rd time in NBA history that two teams enter a game both with double-digit winning streaks. Cleveland is an NBA-best 18-1 at home, outscoring opponents by 13.9 PTS.

Overall, Cleveland is on a 72.6-win pace. The NBA record for most regular-season wins is 73 by the 2015–16 Warriors. But the Cavs aren’t thinking about that.

Kenny Atkinson

“We know big-time playoff games are coming. We’ve got OKC coming up,” Coach Atkinson said. “We got some real tough games. So it’s tough to get ahead of yourself or get to feel good about it.”

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Thunder vs Cavaliers Series History

First of two meetings this season. Last year, the Thunder won both – including 128-120 at home behind 43 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Caris LeVert scored 29 points and Evan Mobley had 22 for Cleveland but star Donovan Mitchell was held to 20 on 8-for-23 shooting. The Cavaliers shot 50.6% from the field, but Oklahoma City scored 30 points off their 20 turnovers. Overall, OKC has won the past three in the series.

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Oklahoma City Thunder v Cleveland Cavaliers Preview
 

It’s always a fun night in NBA betting when you have one of the best teams in the West playing one of the best teams in the East, and that’s what we have on Thursday, Dec 17 when the Oklahoma City Thunder head into the Quicken Loans Arena to face the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tip-off is set for 8 PM EST on TNT. View full TV schedule here.

How to Bet Oklahoma City Thunder Vs Cleveland Cavaliers

These two teams are pretty tough to separate, which might make you tempted to go for the Oklahoma City Thunder straight up. Perhaps you think the Cavaliers can cover the spread at home, or maybe you’d sooner take a shot at the OVER/UNDER.

Why be the Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder (16-8) are sitting pretty with the 3rd seed in the Western Conference at the moment, but they have not been particularly impressive on the road this season, posting a 5-5 record so far. The last 32 times the Thunder have taken to the road to face a team with a winning record they have gone just 10-21 ATS. The one bet that is really worth taking a look at with the Thunder on the road is the UNDER, as that has hit in 10 of their last 11 games versus Eastern Conference opponents. The Thunder might also be a pretty good straight up bet, as they have won 5 in a row, including their last two games on the road.

Why bet the Cleveland Cavaliers

When the Cleveland Cavaliers (16-7) win this season, it is almost always on home court. They are 10-1 at Quicken Loans Arena as opposed to 6-6 on the road. When playing on 1 day’s rest, the Cavaliers have gone 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games. Despite their impressive home record, Cleveland has gone just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 at home. When you look at the Cavaliers, it is the OVER that has been the trend for them of late. OVER is 7-1 in the last 8 games that the Cavs have played with one day’s rest, and it is 4-1-1 in their last 6 games against Western Conference foes. Cleveland have reeled off 3-straight wins after losing 3 in a row.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

This has all the makings of a great game, not to mention one that is sure to be incredibly close. There is very little separating these two, and they ended up splitting the series last season. While both are going well right now, I think the Thunder have the slight edge, which is why I like them to win. Cleveland Cavaliers 100

 
 
 
 

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