San Antonio at Oklahoma City Betting Lines, Pick & TV Info

The Oklahoma City Thunder (35-29) host the San Antonio Spurs (49-13) in a Western Conference showdown on Thursday night. The Thunder have dropped four in a row, including a 126-121 home loss to Portland on Tuesday night in which Russell Westbrook put up 58 points for Oklahoma City but it was not enough. The Spurs have won eight in a row, including a 112-110 win over Houston on Monday night. The Spurs host Sacramento on Wednesday night before heading up Interstate 35 to take on the Thunder on Thursday. Don’t forget to check out all of our NBA lines for the rest of the week.

San Antonio at Oklahoma City Betting Lines, Pick & TV Info

When: Thursday, March 9, 2017, 8:00pm ET Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City TV: TNT Stream: NBA.tv Radio: San Antonio / Oklahoma City NBA Odds: TBA

Why should you bet on the Spurs?

Disclaimer: Check to see how many players the Spurs rested against Sacramento on Wednesday before you bet on this game. Gregg Popovich has a way of resting key starters in games that he thinks are not that important — but sometimes those games include some key conference rivals. So if all the Spur starters took the floor on Wednesday, be careful because some of them may rest on the second night of this back-to- back. With that said, though, the fact that the Thunder put up 121 points against Portland and lostsays a lot about their defensive commitment — and their collective team mentality right now. The last time a team lost four straight games in which one player scored at least 45 points was back in the 1972-73 season, when “Tiny” Nate Archibald pulled off the feat in Boston. Meanwhile, theSpurs just pulled off an immense down in Houston over a Rockets team that sees themselves as ready to knock off their in-state rival, but Kawhi Leonard had two huge blocks in the last 30 seconds, one on James Harden, to seal the Rockets’ fate. That kind of confidence-builder is the exact opposite of the experiences Oklahoma City has had lately.

Why should you put your money on the Thunder?

I thought that Oklahoma City would end their troubles against Portland, as the Trail Blazers haven’t shown much propensity for defense this year, and I didn’t think they could stop Westbrook. Well, they didn’t stop Westbrook, who went 21 for 39 for the game (but just 6 for 15 in the final period). However, Westbrook appeared to run out of gas late, missing four shots in the last 83 seconds that would either have tied the contest or put Oklahoma City in the lead. The Thunder won the first quarter, 40-29, but then the Trail Blazers had three players score over 20 points, and they shot 55 percent on the night. The Thunder are learning that Westbrook can’t carry them — and he shouldn’t have to. But with the Spurs coming to town, a real tailspin could start for Oklahoma City.

Betting Pick and Final Score Prediction

I don’t see the Spurs’ success train stopping against an Oklahoma City team that is starting to fall apart defensively. I predict a final score of San Antonio 118, Oklahoma City 111.