The Cleveland Cavaliers (16-10, 11-2 Home) will try to slow down one of the NBA’s top scoring teams when they welcome the Oklahoma City Thunder (11-14, 5-9 Away) on Saturday. Oklahoma City was outplayed by the Memphis Grizzlies 123-102 at FedExForum on Wednesday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a top performer in defeat with 26 points and seven assists. The Thunder are the 12th seed in the Western Conference. Cleveland is playing on back-to-back days after coming up short yesterday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, falling to the Sacramento Kings 106-95.
Caris LeVert had 22 points, six rebounds, and six assists in the loss to lead the team. The Cavaliers are the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
The teams are meeting for the first time this season. Cleveland won both games between the teams last season, the last of which was a 94-87 triumph at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on January 22, their third straight head-to-head victory.
Darius Garland led the Cavaliers with 23 points, while Jarrett Allen contributed 14 points, 13 rebounds, and three assists. Gilgeous-Alexander had 29 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in the losing effort. The Thunder have been led this season by Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging 31.1 points per game, best in the NBA.
Gilgeous-Alexander also has dished 6.0 assists per game, most in the NBA. Meanwhile, Josh Giddey is grabbing 7.7 rebounds. Donovan Mitchell (29.0 ppg) has supplied much of the Cavs’ offense. He is the No. 1 scorer in the NBA. Allen is collecting 10.6 rebounds per game, most in the NBA, and Garland is recording 7.8 assists (1st).
The Thunder are one of the top scoring offenses in the NBA, ranking third with 116.4 points per game. The teams have split their last 10 meetings at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (5-5).
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are 2-2 when playing on consecutive nights this season and 2-1 in such games against opponents with at least a day of rest. The Thunder are 0-4 with a rest advantage.
Oklahoma City is 4-6 in the last 10 games with an average margin of -3.8 (116.1-119.9). Cleveland has a 6-4 record over the last 10, scoring 103.2 points per game on average while holding opponents to 99.0 (+4.2 margin). The Cavaliers are averaging 110.9 ppg for the full season while allowing 104.9.
THUNDER HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Rebounds per game:
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl: 8.0 | 5.2 | +2.8
CAVALIERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Dean Wade: 6.5 | 11.4 | -4.9
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Cleveland Cavs -5.5 (-110)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
