The last time these two teams met, Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder went into Miami and defeated the Miami Heat 112-95 as a 4-point road underdog.
Oklahoma City vs Miami betting odds, NBA prediction, preview
Miami looks for payback in Oklahoma City tonight, after the Thunder bested the Heat in Miami earlier in the season. See the Heat Thunder betting odds preview.
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LeBron James and the Heat will try to return the favor this Thursday night as a 3.5-point road underdog against Oklahoma City.
With the exception of a head-scratching loss to the Utah Jazz, this has been a very successful road trip for the Miami Heat so far. The Heat are 4-1 SU and ATS with impressive wins as an underdog at the LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors and wins and covers as a small favorite against Phoenix and Dallas.
In the one game of the trip that was supposed to be a gimme, the Heat lost as a 9.5-point favorite to Utah. But with a 5-1 SU and ATS record over their last six road games (per NBA closing line at 5Dimes.eu), Miami has been focused up away from home.
Oklahoma City has just three losses at home all season, and since its last one to Brooklyn back on January 2 the Thunder have gone 9-0 SU and 7-2 ATS at home. Kevin Durant appears to be in the midst of getting another monster scoring streak going.
After being held under 30 points in four of his previous five games, Durant has averaged 40 points per game over his last three games and the Thunder are 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS over that stretch.
Heading into the last game between Miami and Oklahoma City, the Miami Heat were 6-0 SU and ATS in their previous six games against the Thunder including four straight wins in the 2012 NBA Finals.
Oklahoma City’s road win in January may have turned the tide back in the Thunder’s favor, but the Heat may have something to say about that on Thursday.
With two of the league’s top seven offenses clashing and the league’s two most prolific scorers going head-to-head, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Heat vs. Thunder games tend to go OVER the total.
The total has gone OVER in four of the last five games between these two teams, according to one NBA Odds site.
Computer Prediction: 101-99 Oklahoma City (from NBA picks computer)
