Saturday’s Tip Sheet

ATS Rankings | Totals Report | Injuries

Game of the Night: Thunder at Warriors (-9, 233 ½) – 8:30 PM EST

Oklahoma City (34-26 SU, 25-35 ATS) is a perfect 2-for-2 this season against Golden State as the two Western Conference rivals meet up at Oracle Arena. Round 1 prior to Thanksgiving was all Thunder in a 108-91 blowout of the Warriors at Chesapeake Energy Arena as 5 ½-point underdogs. OKC one-upped itself in the next matchup in Oakland earlier this month by dominating Golden State, 125-105 as 10-point underdogs, led by the 1-2 punch of Paul George (38 points) and Russell Westbrook (34 points).

Golden State (45-14 SU, 26-32-1 ATS) bounced back from a loss at Portland prior to the All-Star break to knock off the Clippers on Thursday, 134-127. The Warriors failed to cash as 11-point home favorites, but the defending champions shot a scorching 62% from the floor, highlighted by a 44-point effort from Stephen Curry. The two-time Most Valuable Player drilled 8-of-11 three-pointers, while Kevin Durant chipped in 24 points to lead the Warriors to their 23rd home win in 30 tries this season.

The Thunder built an early 23-point lead at Sacramento on Thursday, but the Kings rallied all the way back to lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Westbrook broke a 107-107 tie by knocking down the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to lift OKC to a 110-107 triumph and its third win over Sacramento this season. Although the Thunder didn’t cover as an eight-point favorite, OKC improved to 6-3 in their past nine road contests.

Oklahoma City is currently on a four-game OVER streak, while topping the 110-point mark during each game in this stretch. Golden State has hit the OVER in four of the past five contests, while the two matchups with Oklahoma City have finished UNDER the total.

Cashing Celtics

A three-game losing streak going into the All-Star break spelled trouble for the Celtics (41-19 SU, 35-23-2 ATS). However, Boston got back on the winning track in Friday’s victory at Detroit as two-point favorites to improve to 7-3 in the past 10 road contests. The Celtics seek their third win over the Knicks this season after routing New York twice at home, but falling at Madison Square Garden in late December, 102-93

New York (24-36 SU, 29-31 ATS) ended a nine-game skid by outlasting Orlando on Thursday, 120-113 as 3 ½-point underdogs. The Knicks yielded 41 first quarter points, but limited the Magic to 44 points in the second half, as Trey Burke dropped 26 points off the bench for New York. This is a difficult two-game stretch for New York, who hosts Golden State on Monday prior to a four-game road swing beginning Friday in Los Angeles against the Clippers. Following a solid home start, the Knicks have dropped to 1-7 SU/ATS in the last eight games at MSG since beating Boston on December 21.

Right on Target

The last time the Timberwolves and Bulls hooked up at the United Center earlier this month, Chicago picked up a 114-113 upset as 7 ½-point underdogs in Jimmy Butler’s return to the Windy City. Butler posted 38 points against his former team, but Minnesota suffered its 10th road loss in 11 tries since the start of January. Minnesota lost again on the road last night at Houston, while Butler suffered a non-contact knee injury and is listed as doubtful for tonight's action. The Wolves (36-25 SU, 28-31-2 ATS) return to the Target Center where they have fared slightly better than the road by going 14-1 in the past 15 home contests.

The Bulls (20-38 SU, 31-26-1 ATS) squandered a five-point lead in the final 35 seconds of Thursday’s 116-115 home setback to the 76ers. Chicago managed a cover as 7 ½-point underdogs, but slipped to 2-10 in the last 12 games in spite of a career-high 38 points off the bench from Bobby Portis. The Bulls are winless in their last five games away from the United Center, which includes ATS losses in their past four road contests.



On the Road Again

The Lakers (24-34 SU, 31-27 ATS) closed out the first half of the season with three consecutive road losses at Dallas, New Orleans, and Minnesota, while allowing an average of 129.3 points per game. Los Angeles hits the highway for a four-game swing starting in Sacramento, coming off Friday’s 124-102 blowout victory over Dallas as seven Lakers finished in double-figures, led by Julius Randle’s 18 points.

The Kings (18-40 SU, 26-29-3 ATS) covered for the fourth straight time in Thursday’s buzzer-beating setback to the Thunder, but slipped to 1-7 in the past eight at Golden 1 Center. Sacramento owns a 1-10 ATS record in its last 11 attempts as a home underdog, but the Kings have won four of the previous five home matchups with Los Angeles dating back to the start of the 2015-16 campaign.

Stop the Music

The All-Star break definitely came at a bad time for Utah, who was riding an 11-game winning streak. The Jazz (30-29 SU, 31-28 ATS) lost to the Trail Blazers for the first time in three tries this season on Friday, 100-81 as 4 ½-point favorites. Not only did Utah’s hot streak ended, but the Jazz couldn’t do much offensively by shooting 42% from the floor and 6-of-25 from three-point range. Utah slipped to 0-3 ATS the last three games, but Quin Snyder’s team owns a solid 8-4 SU and 9-3 ATS record with no rest this season.

Utah welcomes Dallas, as the Mavericks (18-41 SU, 29-29-1 ATS) dropped to 7-22 on the road following Friday’s 22-point setback to the Lakers. The Mavs have lost eight of their last nine games away from American Airlines Center, but Rick Carlisle’s squad has compiled a 12-2-1 ATS record in their 15 tries as a single-digit road underdog. Dallas looks to avenge a 104-89 defeat at Utah in October, while losing in four of the past five visits to Salt Lake City.

You can reach Kevin Rogers via e-mail at rogers@vegasinsider.com

Kevin Rogers can be followed on Twitter at virogers.