Two potent offenses face off on Friday when the Oklahoma City Thunder (28-34, 17-15 Home) welcome the Utah Jazz (31-32, 11-19 Away). Utah lost to the San Antonio Spurs 102-94 at Vivint Arena on Tuesday. Lauri Markkanen was a top performer in the loss with 28 points and 10 rebounds.
The Jazz are the ninth seed in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City lost their fifth in a row on Wednesday at Paycom Center, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers 123-117. Jalen Williams had 24 points and seven assists in the losing effort, leading the team.
The Thunder are 13th in the Western Conference. This marks the final meeting of the season between the teams. Utah will be pursuing a season sweep against Oklahoma City after taking the only previous game 120-119 in overtime at Vivint Arena on February 23, their eighth straight head-to-head victory.
Markkanen led the Jazz with 43 points and 10 rebounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 39 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in the losing effort. Markkanen is averaging 25.3 points per game to lead the Jazz in scoring this season. Markkanen also has grabbed 8.6 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Jordan Clarkson is dishing 4.3 assists.
Gilgeous-Alexander (31.0 ppg) has supplied much of the Thunder’s offense. He ranks as the fifth-highest scorer in the NBA. Josh Giddey is tallying 7.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. The Thunder and the Jazz rank as two of the highest-scoring teams in the NBA, third and fifth in points per game, respectively.
Oklahoma City is scoring 117.8 per game, while Utah is averaging 117.2. The teams have split their last 10 matchups at Paycom Center (5-5). Oklahoma City is looking to avoid a fourth successive loss at home this season.
Utah is 4-6 in the last 10 games with an average margin of -3.6 (114.5-118.1). Oklahoma City has gone 3-7 over the last 10, allowing 121.3 points per game on average while scoring only 120.1 (-1.2 margin).
JAZZ HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Talen Horton-Tucker: 22.2 | 13.6 | +8.6
Collin Sexton: 13.0 | 19.3 | -6.3
Points per game:
Lauri Markkanen: 31.8 | 25.3 | +6.5
Collin Sexton: 9.0 | 14.3 | -5.3
Rebounds per game:
Walker Kessler: 12.8 | 8.0 | +4.8
Assists per game:
Jordan Clarkson: 5.5 | 4.3 | +1.2
THUNDER HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 54.0 | 41.4 | +12.6
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl: 6.6 | 12.8 | -6.2
Points per game:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 39.0 | 31.0 | +8.0
Rebounds per game:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 8.0 | 4.7 | +3.3
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
OKC Thunder (-120)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
