All eyes will be on the NBA on Wednesday night with two amazing Western Conference matchups to be contested on primetime. The Los Angeles Clippers take on fellow contenders at Oklahoma City. A little later on, the Utah Jazz attempt to break the Golden State Warriors’ record 45-straight home wins dating back to the last regular season.
Read on as we take a look at the best games to bet on today. If you’re angling for some more action, then check out our complete previews for the NHL’s Capitals vs. Kings and Blackhawks vs. Blues.
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (9:30 PM ET)
Line: Los Angeles Clippers at Oklahoma City Thunder – view all NBA lines
Oklahoma City cannot afford to ease off the gas pedal. The Thunder have lost six of their nine games since the All-Star break to allow the Clippers to pull to within 1.5 games of third place in the Western Conference. The Thunder will also be driven to make up for a huge blown lead at Los Angeles last week, squandering a 22-point lead to lose 103-98.
Chris Paul was the hero for the Clippers, scoring a team-high 21 points and 13 assists. DeAndre Jordan also had his moments with 20 points and 18 rebounds. But the Thunder have their own dynamic duo in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Both finished with double-doubles in that game. Durant had 30 points and 11 rebounds, while Westbrook had 24 points and 12 assists.
A return home could give Oklahoma City a boost. They’ve won three of their last four home games against the Clippers.
Writer’s Prediction
The Thunder get over their hump with a big win over Los Angeles.
The Golden State Warriors could not be deterred by the Orlando Magic. The Warriors fought back a late rally from the Magic for their 45th straight regular season win at home dating back to last regular season. Golden State gets a pretty different-looking team now in the form of the Utah Jazz. The Jazz are third in the league in defense, allowing just 97.2 points per game.
Gordon Hayward (1.2 steals per game) and Derrick Favors (1.5 blocks per game) are two of the Jazz’s top playmakers on defense. Hayward, in particular, has been solid on the other side of the court with 20.1 points per game. While defense could certainly help Utah, the Warriors’ Stephen Curry is one hell of an animal to contain.
Curry became the first NBA player to make 300 three-pointers in a season in his last outing. He nailed 7 of 13 threes as he scored 41 points in Monday night’s win over the Magic.
Writer’s Prediction
Golden State trounces the Jazz early, but Utah eventually rallies for the backdoor cover.
