Oklahoma City Thunder vs Dallas Mavericks Prediction, 1/17/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Dallas Mavericks

Date: Friday, January 17, 2025

Location: American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX

TV: KFAA

The Oklahoma City Thunder (33-6) are en route to American Airlines Center on Friday where they will take on the Dallas Mavericks (22-19).

The Thunder played the 76ers and walked away with a win by a score of 118-102 in their last game. Oklahoma City ended the contest having earned a 55.6% FG percentage (45 out of 81) and made 12 of their 36 3-pointers. From the charity stripe, the Thunder made 16 of 18 attempts for a percentage of 88.9%. With regard to rebounding, they earned 38 with 10 of them being offensive. They also distributed 32 dimes for this game as well as forcing the opposition into 22 turnovers and getting 10 steals. Regarding defense, Oklahoma City allowed the other team to go 44.0% from the floor on 37 out of 84 shooting. Philadelphia doled out 23 assists and had 10 steals in this game. Moreover, Philadelphia grabbed 35 rebounds (11 offensive, 24 defensive) and had 4 rejections. Philadelphia walked away from this one shooting 75.0% from the charity stripe by knocking down 15 of their 20 shots. They buried 13 out of their 44 tries from long range. When talking about personal fouls, the Thunder ended up finishing with 22 and the 76ers accumulated 18 personal fouls.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a guy who was a major factor in this contest. Gilgeous-Alexander finished shooting 80.0% from the field and recorded 9 dimes. He saw the court for 33 minutes and also snagged 3 boards. He ended up scoring 32 points on 12 out of 15 shooting.

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Oklahoma City enters this contest with a record of 33-6 for the campaign. They currently have an average of 116.2 points per game (8th in the league) while hitting 47.3% from the field. The Thunder are shooting 35.4% on shots from 3-point land (524 of 1,480) and 82.5% from the free throw line. As a team, Oklahoma City is pulling in 43.8 rebounds per game and has accounted for 1,015 dimes this season, which is 17th in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 12.2 times per contest and as a group they commit 20.4 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Thunder are forcing 18.6 turnovers per game and they draw 18.1 personal fouls. They rank 2nd in basketball in giving up assists with 926 relinquished for the campaign. The Thunder defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 42.5% (1,419 of 3,336) and they surrender 46.5 rebounds per game as a group. They give up 32.0% on 3-pointers and they are 1st in basketball in PPG from their opponents (103.4).

When they last stepped on the court, the Mavericks took a loss by a score of 119-116 when they faced the Pelicans. When talking about attacking the glass, Dallas permitted New Orleans to grab 49 overall (15 on the offensive side). They wrapped up this game 33.3% from distance by going 13 out of 39 and walked away from this one shooting 20 out of 24 from the free throw line (83.3%). The Mavericks allowed the Pelicans to convert 43 of their 97 tries from the floor which had them at 44.3% in this contest. When this game wrapped up, the Mavericks walked away from this one shooting 43 out of 90 from the field which gave them a percentage of 47.8%. In terms of shooting from distance, Dallas knocked down 12 of 35 attempts (34.3%). They were able to bury 18 of those for a clip of 72.0%. The Pelicans earned 20 personal fouls in the game which got the Mavericks to the free throw line for a total of 25 tries. They also turned the ball over 17 times, while getting 9 steals for the contest. The Mavericks corralled 37 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 45 for the contest.

Daniel Gafford was important for the Mavericks in this matchup. He converted 12 of 13 for this contest for a rate of 92.3%, and totaled 12 rebounds. Gafford had 27 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood and had 2 dimes for the game.

Dallas has a mark of 22-19 so far this season. The Mavericks have committed 19.0 fouls per contest and they go 77.1% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 25.2 times per game (18th in the league) and they are turning it over 14.3 times per game. Dallas has totaled 4,741 points this year (115.6 per contest) and they snag 44.6 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Mavericks are shooting 47.7% from the floor, which is ranked 7th in the NBA.

The Mavericks defensively are ranked 14th in basketball in points allowed per contest with 112.2. They are forcing 14.1 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 45.6% from the field (9th in the league). The Dallas defense concedes 35.5% on shots from behind the 3-point line (523 of 1,473) and opponents are knocking down 77.2% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 26.2 assists and 44.7 rebounds every game, which is 15th and 21st in basketball.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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