Thunder vs. Trail Blazers Prediction: Betting Odds, Line & Pick

The Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night, with both teams coming off tough losses and looking to climb in the Western Conference standings. The Rockets, Trail Blazers and Thunder are all tied for third place in the West with 39-25 records, so this is a very important game for these two teams.

Thursday, March 7 at 10:30 PM ET

Moda Center

Coverage: TNT

*All odds and betting info courtesy of OddsShark and originally posted by BetOnline

• Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Portland Trail Blazers (-3.5 at -115)
• Over/Under: 233

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Recent Takeaways

Karl-Anthony Towns exploded for 41 points and 14 rebounds while Derrick Rose scored 19 points off the bench to lead the Timberwolves to a 131-120 win over the Thunder last Tuesday.

Towns was 15-for-27 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range, as the Thunder had no answers for him, with Steven Adams, Nerlens Noel and Markieff Morris all having a hard time containing him.

MVP candidate Paul George returned after missing three games due to a sore right shoulder and he had 25 points on 8 of 25 shooting in the setback while Russell Westbrook led the way with 38 points, 13 rebounds and six assists but Minnesota outrebounded the Thunder 52-45 and went 11-for-22 from beyond the arc. Free-throw shooting also doomed OKC, as they were just 18-for-31 on the night.

The Trail Blazers, on the other hand, couldn’t contain Mike Conley late in Tuesday’s game. Conley went scoreless in the first quarter but then carried the Grizzlies with 19 of his career-high 40 points coming in the fourth quarter of a 120-111 victory. The point guard was 6-for-7 in the fourth, making all his three 3-point attempts to help the Grizzlies erase a nine-point deficit by outscoring the Trail Blazers 38-25 in the last 12 minutes.

CJ McCollum finished with a team-high 27 points, Damian Lillard had 24 points and eight assists and Maurice Harkless added 20 points and six rebounds for a Trail Blazers team that was 9-for-18 from the field in the fourth, missing all six of their 3-point attempts. Portland also turned the ball over six times in that span, allowing Memphis to overtake them.

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Thunder vs. Trail Blazers Trends and Prediction

The Oklahoma City Thunder are:

• 0-8 ATS in their last eight games overall
• 0-7 ATS in their last seven games after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game
• 0-7 ATS in their last seven games after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game
• 10-25 ATS in their last 35 games against Northwest Division opponents

The Portland Trail Blazers are:

• 38-16 ATS in their last 54 home games
• 39-19 ATS in their last 58 Thursday games
• 20-6 ATS in their last 26 games playing on 1 days rest
• 16-5 ATS in their last 21 games when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game
• 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games overall
• 6-0 ATS in their last six games when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game
• 8-1 ATS in their last nine games following an ATS loss

If the Thunder want to win this game, they have to find a way to contain Jusuf Nurkic and Enes Kanter and dominate the paint. They can’t afford to let Nurkic and Kanter beat them inside, just like Towns did on Tuesday. Their 3-point defense also has to improve and better free-throw shooting is a must.

The Trail Blazers need Damian Lillard to be at his best at both ends of the floor against Russell Westbrook. OKC has had their number this season, winning all three meetings but coming back home after a long road trip and hosting a team that has dominated them as of late makes me lean towards Portland. The Thunder have lost five of their last six games and the Trail Blazers will play with a chip on their shoulders.

Pick: Trail Blazers -3.5

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