Thursday night in the NBA we will see the Oklahoma City Thunder travel to Florida to take on the Orlando Magic. The game is scheduled for an 8:00 pm tipoff and will be televised live on TNT. Currently Oklahoma City is favored by 1 point with the total being set at 192 for this game.
Free Analysis: The NBA-best Thunder will try to match a season high with a seventh consecutive win Thursday night when they go for the franchise's first road victory over the Magic since 2004 and their first ever win since they became the Thunder. All-Stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will try to end the team's road woes in Orlando after both played a key role in a victory there last weekend for the Western Conference. OKC returned from the All-Star break on Wednesday in Philadelphia and overcame a lackluster performance by dominating in the final five minutes to edge the 76ers, 92-88. Kevin Durant, fresh off his MVP performance in Sunday's All-Star Game, scored 23 points in that one but fellow All-Star Russell Westbrook really dominated with 22 points and a season-high 13 rebounds -- seven offensive -- for the Thunder, who closed the game on a 15-4 run to win their sixth straight. James Harden added 16 points off the bench and Serge Ibaka contributed 10 for Oklahoma City, which has improved to 13-6 on the road this year. Orlando fans are quite familiar with the Thunder's two superstars, point guard Russell Westbrook and small forward Kevin Durant. The two electrified Sunday's All-Star Game at the Amway Center; Durant took home MVP honors with a 36-point performance in the 151-149 Western Conference victory. As stated above this has been a tough venue for this franchise to play as the SuperSonics dropped their last four in Orlando, while the Thunder have not been much better, losing by an average of 15.3 ppg in their three trips there. Kevin Durant scored 23 points on 7-of-22 shooting in Oklahoma City's last game at Orlando, a 111-88 defeat Feb. 25, 2011. The two-time defending scoring champion is averaging 15.3 points - his worst mark on the road against any team - in four career games in Orlando. The Magic also started the second half on a winning note, taking care of business against the lowly Wizards, 102-95, in the nation's capital on Wednesday. Ryan Anderson scored 23 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead Orlando in that one, while Orlando had seven players in double figures, including Jason Richardson, Jameer Nelson, and Glen Davis, who all contributed with 12 points. J.J. Redick added 15 and Dwight Howard had 14 points to help give Orlando its ninth-straight victory over Washington. Anderson, the NBA leader with 103 3-pointers made and 238 attempted, went 6 for 12 from long range and recorded a team-high 25 points in a 97-89 season-opening loss at Oklahoma City on Christmas Day. Durant scored 30 to lead the Thunder. Howard, who had 11 points and 15 rebounds in that meeting, will try to extend his season-high run of double-doubles to eight after scoring 14 points with 12 boards against the Wizards. Magic superstar Dwight Howard averages 20.9 points, 13.9 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 15 career games against the Thunder. This is a tough stretch for the Magic as after today they will play 2 vs Miami and 2 vs Chicago in their next 10 games.
Free Pick: Im going to look at the Over in this one. The Thunder are one of the highest scoring teams in the NBA as they come in averaging 102.4 ppg overall and 107.2 ppg in their last 5 games, despite putting up just 92 points at Philly last night. Orlando is not a great scoring team, but they do score 95.9 ppg at home and they shoot a lot of threes with good results as they have hit 39.1 % of their long range shots at home this year. The Thunder has been a decent team on defense this year as they have allowed 96 ppg overall, but on the road thy have allowed 97.4 ppg and in their last 5 overall they have allowed 97.6 ppg and that should allow an average Orlando Offense to put up at least 96 points in this one. Now despite an Orlando team that has played solid defense this year, they should still have some problems with this hot Oklahoma City offense that should also be good for about 96 points as well. Both teams should hit at least 96 points in this one and we should get a game in the high 190's here.
Free Picks: Thunder at Magic Betting
http://PregameVideos.com - Statement game for Magic and Howard trade discussions problematic for team plus other factors NBA bettors need to know about Thunder at Magic (Thursday, March 1, 2012) from Pregame.com - Including predictions from Scott Spreitzer and analysis from host Marco D'Angelo.