NBA Picks & Predictions: Thunder vs. Spurs (Thursday)
Thursday gives us a pivotal Game 6 with a Western Conference Championship on the line and a trip to the NBA Finals. The series will shift back to San Antonio where we last saw the Spurs put on a defensive clinic to even up the series in Game 4. Will history repeat itself or will the Thunder clinch a date with the Knicks in the Finals. Let's take a deeper look at the matchup for some best bets.
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Thursday’s Best NBA Picks & Predictions
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs
The Thunder are in a familiar spot, attempting to close out a series on the road on Thursday night. They're 4-2 SU in these spots over the last three playoffs but only 1-5 ATS. If the Thunder want to buck this trend, they'll have to rely on an offense that has led them to their three wins in this series so far.
In the three Thunder wins during the conference finals they've scored at least 122 points and shot 48% FG%. It's been an offensive explosion against one of the best defenses in the league. The Spurs ranked third in the league in eFG% defense, including a top ten FG% defense at the rim and from deep. The elite offensive execution from the Thunder is the reason they're just one win away.
In this game, San Antonio will need to set a defensive tone like they did in Games 1 and 4. They'll look to do that early in this game. Still, even in the most successful offensive games for the Thunder in this series, they've gotten off to slow starts. Averaging just 28.7 PPG in the first quarter and 31.8 in the second through fourth during their wins means regardless of how this game plays out, the Under in the first quarter is a strong play.
The rest of the game likely plays out how the previous Thunder road series clinchers have gone. The Spurs will look to rely on their elite defense and in front of a raucous home crowd they should have some more success than they did in Game 5. Look for the Spurs to add to the trend of Thunder woe and push this series to the brink.
Picks: Under 219.5 Total Points (-112) & Spurs -3.5 (-110)