The Los Angeles Clippers moved to within 2.5 games of the Oklahoma City Thunder for third place in the Western Conference with a gritty 10-point win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. The resilient Clippers will look to slice that deficit even further when they lock horns with the aforementioned Thunder in a titanic showdown at Staples Center tonight.
Who will emerge victorious in this critical clash? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this pivotal matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our previews of Oregon vs. UCLA and Texas Tech vs. West Virginia.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Clippers Preview
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles
When: Wednesday, March 2, 10:30 PM ET
Line: Oklahoma City Thunder (+1) at Los Angeles Clippers (-1); total: 220.5 – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Oklahoma City Thunder (42-18)
Oklahoma City returned to winning ways Monday with a convincing 131-116 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena. It was a huge bounce-back win for the Thunder, who suffered a devastating 121-118 overtime defeat to Golden State over the weekend. With the victory, the Thunder improved their overall record this season to 42-18.
As usual, both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook played starring roles in this victory against Sacramento. Durant scored 27 points while Westbrook recorded his ninth triple-double this season with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists. Oklahoma City’s bench also stepped up big time in this game, notching a season-high 64 points. The Thunder are 38-3 this season when their reserves score at least 30 points.
The Thunder will need that same balanced attack for them to defeat the Clippers tonight. Los Angeles has been playing some excellent basketball of late, going 23-7 since Christmas despite losing Blake Griffin that day. The Thunder will take comfort in the fact, however, that they defeated the Clippers, 100-99, in their last meeting on December 21.
Kevin Durant was the hero in that contest, scoring the game-winning basket with 5.8 seconds left. He’s expected to produce even more tonight with Clippers forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute missing this evening’s clash with a left eyelid laceration. Mbah a Moute helped limit Durant to 34 points on 13-of-35 shooting the last two times they faced each other.
The Thunder are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 road games against the Clippers.
The Los Angeles Clippers stretched their unbeaten run to two games with a hard-fought 105-95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. Four players scored in double-figures for the Clips who recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since February 7-8.
Starring for the Clippers in this critical home win was Chris Paul. He scored 23 points and dished out 12 assists to record his 27th double-double this season. Paul has been tremendous for the Clippers of late, averaging 26.1 points and 11.4 assists in his last seven games. He’s expected to play a crucial role tonight against the Thunder whom he torched for 32 points in their last meeting back in December.
Apart from Paul, the inury-plagued Clippers will also need Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick to continue their stellar play tonight. They combined for 45 points on 16-of-33 shooting from the field in the win against the Nets. Crawford and Redick are averaging a combined 30.7 points per game for the Clippers this season as they have stepped up their play in the absence of Blake Griffin.
The Clippers are 6-4 SU and 5-5 ATS in their last 10 home games.
