DALLAS @ OKLAHOMA CITY (OKC -4.5, 231.5)
NBA ODDS, NBA PREDICTIONS, NBA PREVIEWS
MAVERICKS @ THUNDER 12/10/24
Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder are among the NBA's brightest stars. Both finished in the top three of Most Valuable Player voting last season, with Gilgeous-Alexander finishing second and Doncic third. Tonight, they face each other as the Mavericks and host Thunder square off in the first round of the NBA Cup's knockout stage. The game is a rematch of last season's second-round playoff series, which Dallas won 4-2.
Doncic has been particularly hot since returning from a right wrist sprain that kept him out five games in late November. In four games since his return, Doncic is averaging 31.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game. Doncic comes into tonight’s game with two consecutive triple-doubles.
In Saturday's win at the Toronto Raptors, Doncic had 30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists to move past Wilt Chamberlain and James Harden and into seventh on the NBA's all-time triple-double list with 79.
In last season's playoff matchup, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 32.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists. Doncic averaged 24.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.7 assists, with a triple-double in each of the final three games of the series. Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 30 points in six of his past seven games this season.
Oklahoma City has won seven of its past eight games, including three consecutive, while the Mavericks enter the contest as the NBA's hottest team with seven straight wins. Tonight's game, which also counts in the regular-season standings, will be the second between the teams this season.
Doncic missed the Mavericks' 121-119 win on Nov. 17 in Oklahoma City with a bruised right knee. P.J. Washington had 27 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in that game for Dallas. That tight game has become the norm for the series as of late, as six of the past nine regular-season meetings between the teams have been decided by single digits.
The first meeting of the season was one of the Thunder's last without Isaiah Hartenstein, a 7-footer who missed the first 15 games of the campaign with a fracture in his hand. In eight games since returning, Hartenstein has helped Oklahoma City adjust to the loss of Chet Holmgren. Hartenstein is averaging 11.8 points, 12.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists. He's never averaged more than 2.5 assists per game in any of his first six NBA seasons.
For the Mavericks, Washington and Naji Marshall are questionable for tonightdue to illnesses, while Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain) and Maxi Kleber (illness) are out. Washington was the only one of the four to play in Saturday's win against Toronto.
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COACH RICK FREE PICK:
OVER 231.5
These two played on Nov. 17 with a game total of 226 and sailed way Over in a game in which Luka Doncic didn’t play. Tonight, Doncic will be on the floor and now the game total is 231.5. All signs point to the Over again. Ten of the last 15 games played between the two teams have gone Over. Both teams rank in the top 10 in scoring. Dallas averages 118.9 points per game (5th) and OKC scores 115.6 (9th). Nine of the Mavs last 11 games have gone Over the total, 4 of the last 5 against a top 10 defense. Three of the last four Thunder games have gone Over.