Pro Basketball Picks: Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder
Thursday, 12/27/12, 8:00 PM EST, TV: TNT
Opening Point Spread: N/A
Current Betting Line: N/A
Opening Total: N/A
Current Total: N/A
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker

The underdog is 20-5-1 ATS in the last 26 meetings between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder

Dallas has lost three games in a row, including an embarrassing 129-91 setback to the San Antonio Spurs as 11-point road underdogs last time out, while going OVER the total for the fourth time in five contests. “We need to keep on working,” stated Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki. “We’ve got a lot of areas to improve.” He averaged a team-high 22.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in four regular-season meetings against the Thunder during the 2011-12 campaign. Dallas is 6-6 ATS when playing with three or more days rest over the last two-plus seasons, with the OVER going 7-5 in that situation.

The Mavericks are 4-12 on the road this season, including a 3-5 mark versus Western Conference foes. Dallas really needs guard O.J. Mayo to bounce back after three subpar performances, as he’s averaged 8.3 points on 9 of 33 shooting in that span. Nowitzki returned to the floor after missing the team’s first 27 games this year, scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds in 20 minutes of action.

Oklahoma City returns home after dropping two of three games on its recent road trip, which included a 103-97 defeat to the Miami Heat as 2.5-point underdogs on Christmas Day, while going UNDER the total for the fourth time in five affairs. “Unfortunately we didn’t come away with a win,” stated Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. The Thunder did manage to get a combined 54 points from stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Oklahoma City is 10-6 ATS at home this season, with the OVER going 8-7-1 in that situation.

The Thunder are a dominating 14-2 at Chesapeake Energy Arena this year, including a 9-1 mark versus conference opponents. Oklahoma City will be looking to claim its 11th consecutive home victory, while trying to improve to 5-1 in games directly following a loss this year. Offensively, the team ranks third in the NBA in scoring 104.8 points per game, while leading all teams in hitting 84.5 percent of its tries from the charity stripe.