Portland Trail Blazers vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 12/31/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Portland Trail Blazers vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: NBA TV

The Portland Trail Blazers (12-19) are en route to Paycom Center on Wednesday where they will attempt to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder (26-5).

The Trail Blazers faced off with the Clippers and went home with a loss by a final score of 119-103 in their last game. Portland walked away from the contest having earned a 45.0% field goal percentage (36 of 80) and buried 16 out of their 39 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the free throw line, the Trail Blazers knocked down 15 of their 22 shots for a percentage of 68.2%. In relation to rebounding, they earned 43 with 13 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 23 dimes for the contest while forcing 13 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In terms of defending, Portland allowed the other team to go 50.7% from the floor on 35 of 69 shooting. Los Angeles doled out 21 dimes and had 6 steals for the game. On top of that, Los Angeles grabbed 32 rebounds (4 offensive, 28 defensive) and had 2 blocks. Los Angeles ended up going 93.5% at the free throw line by making 29 of their 31 attempts. They made 20 of 40 attempts from three-point range. When it comes to fouls, the Trail Blazers ended up finishing with 20 while the Clippers totaled 18 fouls.

Deni Avdija is a guy who was a contributor for the matchup. He totaled 29 points on 10 out of 18 shooting. He saw the court for 39 mins and collected 9 rebounds. Avdija ended up going 55.6% from the floor and also dished out 9 assists.

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Portland comes into this matchup with a mark of 12-19 for the year. They turn it over 17.2 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 22.5 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Portland is pulling down 45.1 boards per game and is sitting with 763 assists so far this year, which is 22nd in the league in terms of passing. The Trail Blazers are shooting 33.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (422 of 1,268) and 78.1% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 116.6 pts per contest (16th in basketball) while shooting 44.6% from the floor.

On defense, the Trail Blazers are able to force 15.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 23.9 personal fouls. They rank 18th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 834 surrendered on the season. The Trail Blazers defense is giving up a FG percentage of 47.7% (1,324 of 2,775) and they concede 44.1 boards per game as a basketball team. They give up 36.4% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 25th in basketball in PPG allowed (120.5).

The last time they took the court, the Thunder took a loss by a score of 117-102 when they played the Spurs. In the matter of rebounds, Oklahoma City allowed San Antonio to pull down 49 overall (10 on the offensive side). They finished shooting 37.9% from downtown via 11 out of 29 and ended up shooting 16 out of 21 at the free throw line (76.2%). The Thunder allowed the Spurs to convert 45 out of 84 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 53.6% in the game. In all, the Thunder went 37 out of 95 from the field which gave them a percentage of 38.9%. When talking about shots from beyond the perimeter, Oklahoma City buried 11 of their 44 attempts (25.0%). They were able to knock down 17 of those for a rate of 68.0%. The Spurs earned 22 personal fouls for the game which took the Thunder to the free throw line for 25 shots. They also gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while getting 5 steals in the matchup. The Thunder snagged 32 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive rebounds for a total of 48 in this contest.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ended up being important for the Thunder for this contest. He made 7 of 19 in this game giving him a rate of 36.8%, and accumulated 6 rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander earned 22 points in his 36 mins on the court and tallied 4 dimes for the contest.

Oklahoma City has a record of 26-5 on the season. The Thunder commit 20.9 fouls every game and they hit 83.3% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 25.8 times per contest (19th in the league) and they turn it over 12.5 times per contest. Oklahoma City has accounted for 3,760 points for the year (121.3 per contest) and they average 44.7 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Thunder are hitting on 49.0% from the floor, which is ranked 3rd in basketball.

The Oklahoma City defense allows 36.9% on shots from beyond the arc (437 of 1,185) and their opponents are knocking down 75.8% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 24.0 dimes and 44.0 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 2nd and 15th in the league. The Thunder on defense are ranked 1st in basketball in PPG given up with 107.4. They are forcing 17.8 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.4% from the field (1st in the league).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Portland

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