The Oklahoma City Thunder has always had the high-end talent to be considered one of the better teams in the Western Conference. Now they are playing up to that billing. Oklahoma City has won six straight games to move up to the No. 4 seed in the conference and will aim to stay hot next time out in a matchup against the Boston Celtics.
Boston is basically locked up to the No. 2 spot in the East but is hoping to enter the postseason playing well as it hopes to contend for an NBA championship. This is an intriguing matchup of two of the best teams in the NBA. The Celtics are expected to be the favorites since they get this game at home, but Oklahoma City is playing well enough that an upset is not out of the question in NBA basketball betting lines.
Don't miss the hardwood action from the TD Garden at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 20, 2018. Catch every moment of the game live on TNT.
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Odds Analysis
The Thunder is 43-29 straight up and 31-41 against the spread this season. Oklahoma City has covered in 15 of 36 attempts on the road this season. The Thunder has only been the underdog 11 times on the year and has covered in six of those attempts.
The Celtics are 47-22 straight up 42-25-2 against the spread. Boston has gone 18-16-2 against the spread as the home team this year. The Celtics are 28-23-2 against the spread as the favorite.
Matchup to Watch
Russell Westbrook vs. Kyrie Irving -- Two of the best point guards in the NBA will face off in this one -- provided Irving is healthy enough to play -- and the one that gets the upper hand will give his team a big boost. Westbrook won the MVP a season ago and he is putting together another phenomenal season.
Westbrook is averaging 25.2 points, 10.2 assists and 9.7 rebounds per game. He is shooting 44.7 percent from the field but just 28.7 percent from three-point range, so the Celtics will want to force him into perimeter jump shots. Westbrook had a monster game in a win over the Raptors last time out, scoring 37 points and adding 14 assists and 13 rebounds. He has registered triple-doubles in each of the last five games and is looking again like one of the league’s best players.
Irving has missed the past three games with a knee injury but is getting close to a return. His presence is huge as the Thunder would have a great chance at winning this matchup if Irving is sidelined. He is averaging 24.4 points and 5.1 assists per game, shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from three-point range.
Key Stat
124. That’s the number of points the Thunder has averaged over its past three games as it is really rolling on that end of the court. Westbrook is leading the way, while Paul George and Carmelo Anthony are giving him nice support.
Oklahoma City opener up this stretch with a 119-107 win over the Hawks and followed it up with a 121-113 victory over the Clippers. The Thunder put up 132 points last time out in a seven-point win over Toronto.
If Oklahoma City continues to score at this pace it will have a great shot at winning this game, but the Celtics are very good defensively so it will be a challenge.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Thunder is putting it all together down the stretch, while Boston has been up and down lately. Look for both trends to continue as Oklahoma City pulls off the upset behind another great outing by Westbrook.
Oklahoma City is the clear choice to cover in NBA basketball spreads.
NBA Odds: Thunder 111, Celtics 108
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