The Thunder’s grip on the third seed in the Western Conference slipped a bit last week when they surrendered a 22-point lead and lost to the Clippers. OKC has a chance to avenge that loss with a game on their floor. It’s also a chance for the Thunder to end a three-game home losing skid.
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SCHEDULING
The Clippers venture outside the state of California for the first time since before the All-Star break with a two-game road trip that finishes up in Oklahoma City on Wednesday. Prior to Monday’s game in Dallas, the Clips played seven of their previous eight at home with the lone road contest taking place in Sacramento. It was a stretch that saw the Clips go 5-3 SU and ATS and ended with a 10-point loss to Atlanta. LA had nice wins over San Antonio and OKC in that span, but also dropped a game to Denver, which made the stretch less impressive.
Following Sunday’s win at Milwaukee, which bookended Oklahoma City’s four-game road trip with victories, the Thunder return home looking to avenge a heartbreaking loss to the Clippers. OKC began its trip with a win over Sacramento and had the Clips and Warriors next in a back-to-back. Seemingly in control at LA, the Thunder squandered a 22-point lead and was outscored 26-5 in the final 7:30 to drop the game. The carry-over was evident in a loss to the Warriors the next night. It’s hard to say if a win over the Bucks has the Thunder headed in the right direction, but considering how OKC has played since the break, we could say the answer is no.
INJURIES
Luc Mbah a Moute suffered an eye injury last week against Brooklyn and missed the next two games. Recently acquired Jeff Green has started in his place, but Mbah a Moute is likely to be ready when the Clippers hit the road.
The Thunder are a relatively healthy club at this point in the season which makes their recent struggles tougher to handle. Since the All-Star break, OKC is 3-6 SU and 3-5-1 ATS.
KEY MATCHUP
It’s no secret that the Thunder are Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. As the two superstars go, so goes OKC. But both players are making an effort to make the team whole, getting everyone involved and leading by example. That’s what the Thunder need to hold onto the No. 3 seed in the West and stave off the Clippers. The Thunder closed out their road trip with a win over Milwaukee. It was a nice finish after losses to the Clippers and Warriors in the middle of the four-game trip. Against the Bucks, Durant and Westbrook combined for one first quarter field goal attempt while dishing out 11 assists between them. The Thunder had 11 made baskets in the quarter, built a big first half lead, and cruised to the victory. Once again Westbrook stuffed the stat sheet with his 10th triple-double of the season. He finished with 15 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds as the Thunder improved to 10-0 this season when Westbrook gets a triple-double and 25-4 all-time.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Oklahoma City had the game in their grasp. Leading by 16 points with over seven minutes to play, the Thunder were about to get the win and increase their margin over the Clippers in the Western Conference playoff race. Then, it all fell apart. And it’s something that’s been all too familiar to the Thunder since the break. Durant thinks the spell is actually good for the team. It’s a chance to overcome adversity and make the Thunder stronger down the stretch. Durant and Westbrook can carry the team only so far, and they are making an effort to get the rest of the team more involved. We will wait and see if the strategy works against the better teams in the league. Having a nice break following the four-game road trip, which ended with a win and a split, the Thunder are poised to make a run and remove the embarrassment of that loss in LA just one week ago.
Oklahoma City 111, Los Angeles 107
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