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Thunder and Rockets collide Thursday night
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 1/15/2015  at  5:56:00 AM
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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (18-19)

at HOUSTON ROCKETS (27-12)

Tip-off: Thursday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Houston -1.5, Total: 209

The Thunder need to start making up ground in the Western Conference, and a road win over the Rockets on Thursday could help them do just that.

Oklahoma City has not played since Friday when it beat the Jazz 99-94 as an 11.5-point home favorite. The club has now won three of the past five games SU, but is only 2-10 ATS in the past 12 games, which includes a current six-game ATS losing skid. Thursday begins a stretch of eight road contests in 10 games to close out January. Houston is coming off a surprising 120-113 loss as a 9-point favorite in Orlando on Wednesday, but the team had won-and-covered in four straight games before running into the Magic. The Rockets have gone Over the total in 10 of their past 14 contests, but three straight Thunder games have finished Under the total. These teams met on Nov. 16, when the Houston beat Oklahoma City in an ugly 69-65 game as a 5-point road favorite. Both teams shot below 30% FG that night, and made only 10-of-54 threes (19%) combined. Before two straight wins (1-1 ATS) by the Rockets in this series, the Thunder had prevailed in four consecutive meetings (SU and ATS), and are 9-5 (SU and ATS) in this series over the past three seasons, including 4-3 (SU and ATS) at Toyota Center. Since 1996, the Oklahoma City is 87-51 ATS (63%) after having lost two of its past three games, while Houston is 15-5 ATS (75%) after two consecutive non-conference tilts over the past two seasons.

Which Western Conference power will pick up a key win on Thursday night? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a strong 55% ATS record (100-81-1) in featured games this season. In terms of Best Bets, the experts have a stellar 72% ATS (36-14) record since Jan. 2, led by StatFox Scott, who is a sizzling 76% ATS (13-4) in Best Bets since Dec. 21, improving his record to 56% ATS (32-25) for the season. StatFox Brian is 63% ATS (22-13) in Best Bets since Nov. 29, and is now 56% ATS (32-25) in season Best Bets, while StatFox Gary is 7-2 ATS in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 1, and 57% ATS (32-24) this season.

The Thunder have dropped three straight road games (SU and ATS), but after two horrible shooting performances in consecutive losses (32% FG), they shot 46% FG in their most recent game last Friday versus the Jazz. SF Kevin Durant (25.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 3.6 APG) has found his game since returning from a broken foot. He had 32 points, six assists and five rebounds in the victory over Utah, and is now averaging 29.6 PPG, 8.4 RPG and 3.6 APG over the past five contests. He should be in for a huge game against a Rockets team that allows a lot of good looks with their up-tempo style. PG Russell Westbrook (26.2 PPG, 7.1 APG, 5.6 RPG) had 25 points, 12 assists, four rebounds and three steals against the Jazz. He’ll play this game with a ton of fire, as it’s an opportunity for him to go up against a player he very much dislikes in Patrick Beverley, the same player that injured Westbrook’s knee a few seasons back. Against Utah, SG Dion Waiters (10.4 PPG) had his best game as a member of the Thunder. Waiters played 27 minutes in that victory and finished the game with 15 points, four steals and three rebounds. The guard was brought in to give this team a spark off the bench, and he did just that against the Jazz. He will now spend plenty of time matched up against James Harden, who was the Thunder’s beloved sixth man before being traded to Houston.

The Rockets are coming off of a bad loss to the Magic in Orlando, and their attention was more than likely on the Thunder in that one. SG James Harden (26.9 PPG, 6.7 APG, 5.6 RPG) finished the game with 26 points and 10 assists, but he did turn the ball over seven times, and will need to limit his mistakes against his former team on Thursday. C Dwight Howard (17.0 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 1.6 BPG) is the guy that could really give the Thunder problems in this game. Howard had 23 points and eight rebounds against the Magic on Wednesday, and his size is going to be an issue for Oklahoma City. In a game where perimeter play is going to make all of the headlines, Howard has the potential to just dominate the Thunder in the paint. SF Trevor Ariza (12.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG) will need to come ready to play in this game. He had 15 points and five rebounds against the Magic on Wednesday, but will now be matched up against Kevin Durant. Ariza will need to use his length to disrupt Durant on the defensive end and offensively, he’ll be relied on to bury his open looks from three. PG Patrick Beverley (11.7 PPG 4.8 RPG, 3.3 APG) is capable of getting under Russell Westbrook’s skin, and that could really benefit the Rockets in this game. The point guard had 17 points in 34 minutes against the Magic on Wednesday and is shooting the ball very well this season (39% threes).


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