Game: Oklahoma City Thunder @ Golden State Warriors
Time: 10:00 p.m.
Odds: Thunder -2.5, Warriors +2.5
Total: 226.5
In a crucial early-season rematch tonight in San Francisco, the Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the Golden State Warriors without Draymond Green and perhaps without Stephen Curry. Green’s aggressive play in removing Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert from a brawl between Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels early in the Timberwolves’ 104-101 victory on Tuesday resulted in a five-game suspension on Wednesday. Green, Thompson, and McDaniels were all ejected from Tuesday’s game.
Curry didn’t play on Tuesday and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was content to declare Curry as day-to-day. The Warriors star has been downgraded to out for tonight’s game meaning the Warriors will be without two of their Big Three.
On November 3, the Thunder lost 141-139 on the road to the Warriors while having Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out due to injury. With a buzzer-beating layup over Chet Holmgren to cap a 30-point effort, Curry was the game’s hero. Green had 15 points, five rebounds, and three assists as Golden State outrebounded the Thunder 38-32 in that victory.
Following his return from a sprained left knee, Gilgeous-Alexander has helped the Thunder win four of their last five games. In those games, the All-Star scored 33.8 points per game. In Oklahoma City’s most recent game, a 123-87 home victory over the San Antonio Spurs, Gilgeous-Alexander had his lowest-scoring performance of the five. He had 28 points while teammate Chet Holmgren had nine. Spurs rookie star Victor Wembenyana was held to just eight points. The No. 2 overall pick out of Gonzaga in 2022, Holmgren, combined with eight rebounds, five assists, and a season-high 24 points in the previous loss to Golden State.
Golden State rookie Brandin Podziemski, another product of the West Coast Conference, had scored 20 points so far this season before using his opportunity to play a season-high 39 minutes to score 23 points on Tuesday against the Timberwolves. Even though his team lost for the fourth time in a row, the Santa Clara product gave Kerr something to cheer about after the game with seven rebounds and a season-high five assists.
If Podziemski faces Gilgeous-Alexander, the rookie will have his hands full. The Thunder star is equally good on both ends of the floor. Against the Spurs, Gilgeous-Alexander recorded a career-high seven steals. The Thunder had a total of 19 steals, nine more than in any other game this season. OKC is one of the better defensive teams in the NBA, ranking in the top-10 in points allowed and opponent field goal percentage.
The Thunder have won five of their last six games and they’ve covered the spread in four of their last five. They have not done well in games against the Warriors, however. OKC has won just once in the past 11 games against Golden State. The Thunder are 3-9-1 ATS in the last 13 against the Warriors. On the road at Golden State, Oklahoma City is 0-6 ATS in its last six trips.
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