Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder
Monday, 3/5/12, 8:00 PM EST, TV: NBATV
Opening Point Spread: Oklahoma City -7
Current Betting Line: Oklahoma City -7
Opening Total: 195
Current Total: 195.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Dallas snapped a four-game losing streak in picking up a 102-96 win over the Utah Jazz as 7.5-point home favorites on Saturday. The Mavericks have failed to cover their last five games and have gone “over” the total in consecutive contests. All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki has been coming on of late, scoring a season-high 40 points last time out. “I had a good rhythm,” commented Nowitzki. “I just wanted to be aggressive and my teammates kept feeding me.” He is averaging a team-high 19.7 points and also grabbing 6.9 rebounds per game. Dallas is 7-3 ATS as an underdog and the “under” is 6-4 in that situation.
The Mavericks are 8-9 on the road this season, including a 5-7 mark versus Western Conference opponents. Dallas has won 24 of the last 33 regular-season meetings with Oklahoma’s franchise, but has dropped three of the last four. The team has ended up on the losing end in two of three meetings this year, but has managed to cover both games as an underdog. Nowitzki is certainly the player to watch, averaging team highs in points, rebounds and minutes versus the Thunder.
Oklahoma City had its seven-game win streak snapped in dropping a 97-90 contest to the Atlanta Hawks as six-point road favorites. The Thunder still manage to turn the ball over at a high rate, averaging a league-worst 16.5 turnovers per game. “We’ve got to fix it,” commented Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. There’s no question that the team has the opportunity to bounce back in this spot, losing back-to-back games just once during the 2011-12 campaign. Oklahoma City is 9-7 ATS at home this year.
The Thunder are a dominating 15-1 at home this season, including a sparkling 11-1 versus Western Conference opponents. Oklahoma City will look to All-Star forward Kevin Durant on the offensive end, averaging 28.2 points per game overall, while stepping it up a bit in three meetings with the Mavericks (28.7). He was recently named the Western Conference Player of the Month for February, tallying seven games in scoring 30-plus points.
Bettors will likely back the Thunder due to their 9-4 ATS mark as a home favorite of 5.0 to 10.5 points, while the Mavericks are 0-4 ATS versus Western Conference teams.
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