On Friday, January 3, Basketball fans will turn their attention to the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, where the New York Knicks (24-10) are set to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder (28-5). Both teams come into this encounter with impressive winning streaks, creating an exciting atmosphere for this duel.
The Knicks are in fine form with nine straight wins, having recently outclassed the Utah Jazz with a convincing 119-103 victory on New Year’s Day, thanks to a phenomenal performance from Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 31 points and 21 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Thunder are also on a hot streak, having won eight straight games, bringing their win tally to 13 if we exclude their NBA Cup Finals loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played a key role in their latest victory, scoring 29 points in a home win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
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As it stands, the Knicks are a solid 13-6 on the road, sporting a commendable +8 point differential, while the Thunder have been nearly unbeatable at home, with a 9- 1 in their last ten matches.
For those wanting to follow the ins and outs of this thrilling encounter, we’ve got all the essential information you need, including details on how to watch the kick-off, betting odds, current team performances, player statistics, and of course, our expert predictions and best bets from sophisticated modeling tools.
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As of Friday, the latest odds show the Knicks have an implied team total of 109.75 points and the Thunder have 112.62 points.
If you’re looking for the best betting odds across the NBA, be sure to check out NBC Sports’ Live Odds tool for the most recent updates from sportsbooks like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and others!
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Sports betting aficionado Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) is leaning in favor of the visiting Knicks in this matchup, saying, “I think the Thunder might be a little overconfident, while the Knicks have the ability to dissect their formidable defense. ” He suggests opting for a bet on the New York Knicks +5.5.
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Our comprehensive models generate predictions on winning odds, spreads, and over/under bets for every game on the NBA schedule, with analysis based on recent performances, head-to-head matchups, relevant trends, and Projected game totals. Following the model calculations, we present the projections alongside the latest betting odds to establish a confidence level for each potential bet.
Here are the best bets projected by our model for today’s game between the Knicks and Thunder:
- The last five games between the Thunder and the Knicks have each exceeded the Total.
- The Knicks have managed to cover the spread in four of their last five road games.
For other key trends and stats regarding the spread, moneyline and totals from today’s games, be sure to check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
For in-depth sports betting analysis, listen to Bet the Edge with Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick weekdays at 6:00 a.m. ET, available right here or wherever you prefer to listen to podcasts.
