Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs
Wednesday, 2/23/11, 7:00 PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: San Antonio -7
Current Betting Line: San Antonio -7.5
Opening Total: 206
Current Total: 206
Oklahoma City displayed its versatile offensive attack in a 111-88 home win over the Los Angeles Clippers in its first game after the All-Star break. The Thunder were paced by the offensive play of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, combining for 34 points in the victory. It also helped that the squad put together a 15-0 run to finish out the first half and spoil the homecoming of Clippers star Blake Griffin. “He is the man here,” said Durant of playing Griffin in Oklahoma City. “We knew there would be a lot of Clippers fans and a lot of fans here to see him. We just tried not to worry about that too much and went out there and played our game.” The victory moved the team’s record to 36-19 overall and 20-8 at home. Oklahoma City is 13-14 ATS on the road this season and currently getting points on the NBA lines page.
The Thunder will be playing the second game of its 11th back-to-back of the season, posting a 7-4 record on the first night and 6-4 on the second night. Earlier this month, Oklahoma City claimed its third sweep of such a set with road victories over the Suns and Jazz. The team’s two All-Stars in Durant and Westbrook have combined to score 51.1 points on the season, but may struggled to reach that mark tonight. Westbrook has managed to shoot just 34.3 percent from the floor and is averaging 13.6 points per game in 10 career meetings against the Spurs.
San Antonio suffered a 109-99 loss to Chicago in its final game before the break and knew it was a measuring stick game for its opponent. “When we played them in San Antonio, we played a decent game, but it got away from us in the third quarter,” said Bulls guard Derrick Rose, “They’re a great team.” The Spurs have been tremendous inside the AT&T Center, compiling a league-best 25-2 record on the season and have won 18 in a row. That success has led the squad to an NBA-best 46-10 record and given them a six-game cushion atop the Western Conference standings. San Antonio is 27-18 ATS as a favorite this season.
The Spurs currently hold a 79-62 advantage over the Thunder in the all-time series and have won five in a row. Earlier this season, San Antonio held the Thunder to an opponent season-low 74 points, picking up a 101-74 victory. The team’s dominating record is the best mark through 56 games in franchise history. It’s two wins better than the Spurs previous record of 44-12. The home fans should be more than ready to welcome back the team to its home court, as they just completed the 2011 Rodeo Road Trip with a 6-3 record.
Bettors will be interested in backing the Spurs due to their 11-1 ATS mark following a road trip of seven or more days, while the Thunder are 2-5 ATS as a road underdog.
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