So far, not even the Cavaliers nor the Spurs have been able to derail Golden State’s magical campaign. On the other hand, Oklahoma City is arguably the only team left in the league that can realistically compete with the Warriors, which makes their first encounter of the season this weekend one heck of a battle that can’t be missed.
Let’s get up-close with this spectacular western conference showdown below. After this, read up more on the rest of the NBA’s Saturday night slate with our previews for San Antonio vs. Dallas and Boston vs. Cleveland.
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Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors Preview
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland
When: Saturday, February 6, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden State Warriors – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Oklahoma City Thunder (38-13)
While the thought of Durant joining the best team in the NBA next season is a frightening scenario for the rest of the league, Slim Reaper’s already spooking his opponents this season with his eye-popping stats. He just scored 37 huge points on Wednesday, marking his 36th-consecutive game of scoring 20 or more points, the longest active streak in the league right now.
And it’s not just Durant that’s playing at a high level for the Thunder, as Russell Westbrook just secured his third-straight triple-double with 24 points, 19 rebounds and 14 assists against Orlando. Westbrook now has eight triple-doubles for the season – five over the last 11 contests – and his 19 boards on Wednesday is a career-high.
Speaking of rebounds, the Thunder still continue to excel in this category. They outrebounded the Magic 50-39 on Wednesday, and are currently second in the league with an average of about 48 boards per game.
Having to deal the Warriors their first home loss of the season is a tall order indeed. Luckily for the Thunder, they have won six of their last eight games on the road. On the flipside, they lost all those games against the spread, but the total managed to go over in seven of those contests.
Create a betting account now to cash in from this star-studded Western Conference matchup and all the other exciting games from the NBA.
Betting on the Golden State Warriors (45-4)
Not even a 41-point night from John Wall could’ve prevented the Golden State Warriors from winning in D.C. over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, 134-121. Well, especially not if reigning MVP Stephen Curry goes ballistic with 51 points of his own.
Curry scored 36 of his 51 points of the game in the first quarter alone on 13-of-14 shooting, and nearly tied the NBA record for most 3-pointers in a game with his 11 makes from downtown.
As usual, Steph didn’t do everything on his own to come away with the victory. Draymond Green quietly sealed his league-best 10th triple-double of the season with a 12-10-12 line, and fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson drained six triples of his own to finish with 24 points.
The Warriors, who are averaging an NBA-best 29.4 assists per contest this season, had 35 dimes on Wednesday. It was the eighth-straight game that they have dished out 30 or more assists, which is also the same number of games of their current win streak.
However, Golden State has got to limit its turnovers on Wednesday to not give the Thunder any chance of pulling off the upset. They turned the ball over 18 times against the Wiz, with seven of them committed by Curry alone.
Nevertheless, let’s not forget that the Warriors are still virtually invincible in Oracle Arena (a spotless 22-0 home record this season). Even OKC has had a tough time there in the past, as the Dubs have won four of their past five meetings together in Oakland (3-2 ATS).
Writer’s Prediction
The Warriors’ perfect home record remains intact as they silence the Thunder, 127-118.
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