The Oklahoma City Thunder (23-10) travel to face off against the Brooklyn Nets (15-20) on Friday, January 5th. This game will be played at Barclays Center. Both the Thunder and Nets will be looking to bounce back from losses in their previous games. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 ET.

Thunder vs Nets

The Thunder Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

In their most recent game, the Thunder fell to the Hawks by a score of 141-138. Alonside their straight-up loss, the Thunder failed to cover the spread as +1 point underdogs. The over/under line entering this matchup was 249 points, and both teams achieved a total score that exceeded that line.

Coming into today’s game against the Nets, the Thunder are 23-10 and are looking to stay above .500. As things stand, they are 2nd in the Western Conference and are also 2nd in the Northwest division.

Oklahoma City currently has an ATS record of 24-9, placing them above .500 against the spread. The Thunder are currently on a three game ATS win streak when they are the favorite, and they hold a 10-4 record against the spread as underdogs.

The Nets Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

The Nets is coming off a loss to the Rockets in their latest game, ending with a score of 112-101. As the second half got underway, the Nets were leading by a score of 50-49.

Coming into today’s game vs. the Thunder, the Nets have an overall record of 15-20 and are hoping to end a five game losing streak. This season, the Nets are 6-12 on the road compared to 9-8 at home.

In terms of the spread, Brooklyn currently holds an ATS record of 18-16, which is above .500. The Nets maintain an ATS record of 7-11 on the road, while they have a 11-5 record vs. the spread when playing at home.

Thunder Offense Breakdown

The Thunder arrive for today’s game as one of the NBA’s top offensive teams, scoring an average of 122 points per game (4th). The Thunder come into the game as one of the league’s better 3-point shooting teams, connecting at a rate of 13.3 made 3’s per game. A key to the teams offensive success is their ability to avoid turning the ball over. So far, Oklahoma City is ranked 3rd in fewest turnovers per game.

Nets Offense Breakdown

The Nets come into today’s game as the 17th ranked scoring offense at 114.3 points per game. The Nets come into the game as one of the league’s better 3-point shooting teams, connecting at a rate of 13.7 made 3’s per game. If the Nets offense is going to improve, they could look to play at a faster tempo, as they currently average just 97.8 possession per game. This could benefit the team as they are currently one of the better 3-point shooting units in the NBA.

Thunder Team Defense

So far, the Thunder’s defense is ranked 14th in the league at 113.9 points per contest. The Oklahoma City defense has allowed opponents to shoot 36.2% from beyond the arc this season. Opposing teams are also hitting 44.6% of their field goal attempts vs. Oklahoma City.

Nets Team Defense

Coming into the game, the Nets’ defense has finished two straight games with an increased number of points allowed. Overall, they are 19th in the league at 116.1 points per game allowed. Brooklyn struggled on the boards in their last game vs. the Rockets, giving up 15. For the game, Houston scored 112 points in the game.

Key Players For The Thunder And Nets

Our projections for today’s game indicate that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be the primary scorer for the Thunder, with 29 points and going 10/19 from the field. For the season, he has been averaging 31.4 points per game, in addition to 5.9 rebounds.

On the other side, Mikal Bridges is our projected leading scorer for the Nets. We have him ending the game with a team-high 18 and grabbing 5 rebounds. This season, he is shooting at a field goal percentage of 45%, and his scoring average is 20.7 points per game.

Thunder vs Nets Trends

• Across their last three road contests, Oklahoma City has been good against the spread posting a mark of 2-1. Their overall mark in these games was 2-1, while averaging 125 points per game.
• When looking at their past ten home matchups, Brooklyn has an ATS record of 1-9 while averaging 107 per game. The team went 2-8 overall in these games.
• Going back to their last ten games as the underdog, the Nets have a straight up record of 1-9. But, their mark vs the spread was just 1-9.
• Oklahoma City has done well both straight up and vs the spread when favored to win the game, going 4-1 SU and 4-1 ATS in their last five games.

Thunder vs Nets Prediction

In this Thunder vs. Nets matchup, our point-spread bet is on the Nets at +5.5. While we project the Thunder to win 114-109, our recommendation is to bet on the Nets for the point-spread.

Right now, the over/under line for the game is sitting at 234 and given that our model is projecting 223 points between the teams, we like the under.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.