The Thunder have another chance to get it right against the Warriors. OKC let one slip away and lost in overtime when the teams met Saturday in Oklahoma City. Golden State continues to just win basketball games and puts its 43 game regular season home win streak on the line.
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TRAVEL
Back-to-back games on the road are rarely fun and this set has the makings of being a nightmare for the Thunder. After playing the Clippers in Los Angeles Wednesday night, OKC heads north to take on the Warriors for the second time in less than a week. The back-to-back comes in the middle of a four-game road swing that started with a convincing win over Sacramento on Monday night. It was a good sign for the Thunder coming off Saturday’s heart-breaking loss to Golden State. OKC is 5-5 SU and 4-6 ATS in the second game of their 10 back-to-back sets.
It doesn’t seem to matter who’s in, or isn’t in, the Warriors lineup, because all they do is win. Playing without Steph Curry and Andre Iguodala, Golden State squeaked by Atlanta in overtime on Tuesday. That game opened a season-ending stretch where the Warriors play 17 of their final 24 games at Oracle. The Dubs are perfect at home, winning all 25 games this season and 43 straight during the regular season. Golden State prevailed in overtime in the most recent meeting and chalked up an 8-point win when the clubs met in Northern California on Feb. 6. A win Thursday also ties Golden State with the NBA record for the most consecutive regular season victories.
INJURIES
It may be a tough back-to-back set, but at least the Thunder have a full complement of players. After getting Andre Roberson back in the lineup, OKC has no injuries to report.
The Warriors played without Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala on Tuesday, but still managed to keep their home win streak alive with a victory over Atlanta. Curry hurt his ankle at OKC Saturday while Iggy is dealing with soreness in his hamstring. Both are day-to-day.
KEY MATCHUP
Some of Kevin Durant’s better games have come against the Warriors, and Thursday promises to be no different. Who can forget the 30 points he scored in just 19 minutes last season before rolling his ankle. That injury late in the first half likely cost the Thunder a chance at winning in Oracle. Without K.D., OKC stumbled and lost by five. Then there was the 36 points he scored on 14 of 18 shooting when the Thunder knocked off the Warriors at home in their final meeting last season. Durant also dropped 40 on the Dubs in Oracle back on Feb. 6 and notched 37 on Saturday before fouling out early in the overtime period. Durant is likely to go off again, just because he’s Kevin Durant and he can do that. The Warriors are powerless to stop him and few teams have. Durant tallied 27 at Sacramento on Monday and has 20 or more points in 45 straight games.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Thunder have been close to beating the Warriors in their two games, but have been unable to get over the hump. There’s just something about Golden State that allows them to come back when they’re trailing and step on the gas when they’re in front. Being a prolific three-point shooting team allows them to be in every game. And even when the best player on the planet is out of the lineup, the Warriors still find a way to win. I guess that’s why they are the NBA Champions. It will likely be more difficult to beat Oklahoma City without Curry and Iguodala than it was to knock off the Hawks. And the Dubs needed overtime to extend their homecourt streak. The law of averages says the Warriors are due to lose a home game soon. OKC let one slip away in their gym on Saturday, but the Warriors aren’t as loose.
Golden State 118, Oklahoma City 114
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