Tip-off: Friday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: San Antonio -2.5, Total: 208.5

Riding high from a win in Orlando, the Thunder look to take down the Spurs at home.

The San Antonio Spurs had a five-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday night, as they blew a 33-17 end-of-first-quarter lead to lose to the Warriors 110-98 at home (GSW +4.5). The defeat worsened the Spurs’ record to 57-17 (39-34-1 ATS), which puts them 3.5 games back of the Warriors in the Western Conference standings but 6.5 games up on the Rockets for second place. They return to the court against another playoff opponent on Friday night, this time on the road for a showdown with the team that eliminated them from last year’s playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder have won two straight against subpar teams, most recently coming back from a 21-point second half deficit to beat the Magic 114-106 in overtime on Wednesday in Orlando (OKC -5). At 43-31 (41-32-1 ATS), the Thunder have clinched a playoff spot and are currently No. 6 in the West. They are 2.5 games back of the fourth-place Jazz, 1.5 games back of the fifth-place Clippers and 2.5 games up on the seventh-place Grizzlies. Since 1996, road favorites revenging a loss as a road favorite (the Spurs lost 102-92 in OKC on March 9 as 2.5-point favorites) and coming off an upset loss are 83-45 ATS. Since 1996, Friday night games involving two winning teams are 260-173 Under against totals between 200 and 209.5.

SF Kawhi Leonard (25.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.8 SPG) had a tough shooting night against the Warriors, going 7-of-20 from the field and 0-for-5 from three in scoring 19 points, well below his season average. He also committed five turnovers, although he did have seven rebounds and five assists. He is, of course, having an MVP-caliber season on the whole, as he is ninth in the league in scoring while also being in the running for Defensive Player of the Year. PF LaMarcus Aldridge (17.5 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.2 BPG) was strong at the rim with four blocks, and scored his typical 17 points against the Warriors. He is remarkable in his consistency, which is another way of saying that he’s pretty unexciting. For that reason, though, he is underappreciated. C Pau Gasol (12.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.1 BPG) probably is, as well, at this point in his career. He’s a perfect fit in San Antonio, and he can still play at a high level on a title-contending team. He had 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists off the bench against the Warriors. SG Manu Ginobili (7.7 PPG, 1.3 SPG) is still alive and kickin’, as well, although not with nearly the same liveliness that he once did. The same goes for PG Tony Parker (9.9 PPG, 4.6 APG), although he is still in the starting lineup. Backup PG Patty Mills (9.8 PPG, 3.5 APG) plays about equal minutes off the bench.

Thunder PG Russell Westbrook (31.8 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 10.4 APG, 1.7 SPG) submitted his best clip yet for his MVP candidacy on Wednesday (which is saying something), scoring the most points ever in a triple-double with a ridiculous 57 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists against the Magic. As if those numbers weren’t enough, he hit an incredibly deep and difficult three at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime. It was his 38th triple-double of the season. As you might assume, no other individual on OKC had a huge scoring output in that game, but C Enes Kanter (14.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG) came closest with 17 points and also 10 rebounds. He did it in only 20 minutes, which was even fewer than his season average of 21.5 MPG. SG Victor Oladipo (16.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.2 SPG) played 44 minutes, more than anyone but Westbrook, and chipped in 13 points. Neither SF Andre Roberson (6.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 1.0 BPG) nor C Steven Adams (11.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.1 SPG, 1.0 BPG) bring much scoring to the starting lineup, but they are good-to-great defenders and each had nine rebounds against Orlando. PF Taj Gibson (8.8 PPG, 4.4 RPG in 17 games with OKC) is the fifth starter, and he only had two points on Wednesday. SF Doug McDermott (6.6 PPG in 17 games with OKC), who was acquired in the same trade, only played three minutes. His contributions to his new team have been disappointing.