Thunder vs Raptors

NBA odds, picks, and predictions for the Oklahoma City Thunder at Toronto Raptors on March 16. NBA betting best bet and free pick analysis.

And tonight, they face a Thunder team that ranks ninth in defensive rating for the season. Now, they face a Raptors team that is giving up 114.5 points per game and ranks 29th in opponent field goal percentage over their last four games. Meanwhile, the Raptors tend to perform better at home. OKC takes the 11th-most threes per game and ranks 15th in 3-point shooting percentage. Winners of three in a row and six of seven, covering the spread in all six wins. [Fred VanVleet](https://www.covers.com/sport/basketball/nba/players/1756/fred-vanvleet) and [OG Anunoby](https://www.covers.com/sport/basketball/nba/players/6329/og-anunoby) to help build up that lead once again and help them secure that victory. The Raps rank 28th in both 3-point shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage this season. The script was looking all too familiar for the Raptors in Tuesday night’s game against the Nuggets. One: The bench is contributing almost nothing to this team at the moment. OKC ranks dead last in the NBA in opponent rebounds per game. It's been an up-and-down season for the reigning Rookie of the Year, but he's stringing together more consistent performances of late and should put in some good work on the glass here. The Raptors entered their last game on a three-game losing streak where fourth-quarter collapses were becoming the norm.

Visit ESPN for the game recap of the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Toronto Raptors NBA basketball game on March 16, 2023.

added 23 points and [Fred VanVleet](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/2991230/fred-vanvleet) and [Scottie Barnes](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4433134/scottie-barnes) each had 19. “I thought they just probably went and got him a little earlier with the double teams, which I don’t think really impacts his shot quality,” Daigneault said. “He makes it look so easy.” “They played the better 48-minute basketball game, and they won.” “It was a tough fight,” Dort said. [Gary Trent](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/858/gary-trent) Jr. A lot of the fast breaks in the first half were off of our turnovers, which we know they’re obviously really capable of.” [Pascal Siakam](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3149673/pascal-siakam) had 25 points and 14 rebounds to help the [Toronto Raptors](http://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/tor/toronto-raptors) beat the [Oklahoma City Thunder](http://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/okc/oklahoma-city-thunder) 128-111 on Thursday night, extending their season-high home winning streak to six. Oklahoma City is 13-21 on the road. [Jakob Poeltl](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3134908/jakob-poeltl) had his third straight double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors. Anunoby](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3934719/og-anunoby) scored 17 points for Toronto as all five Raptors starters reached double figures, and a season-high six scored 15 or more. “I really liked our transition offence tonight.”

We break down Thursday night's Thunder-Raptors matchup, providing our best bet and favorite player prop bet for this contest.

Additionally, they are 19-12-2 ATS after a win and 17-9 ATS in non-conference games. Oklahoma City is 11-3-1 ATS in their past 15 road games and 18-7-3 ATS as a road underdog this season. In their first meeting in November, the Thunder crushed the Raptors 132-113 in Oklahoma City. It's also worth noting that the Raptors are 20-14 against the spread at Scotiabank Arena and 16-11 ATS as a home favorite. The Raptors have a one-game lead over the 10th-seed Wizards but are only a game behind the eighth-seed Hawks. As for the Thunder, they have won four out of their past five games, which includes a good home win over the Warriors on March 7. The Thunder have a solid three-point defense, allowing teams to shoot 35.8 percent (13th-best in the NBA) this season, so bettors might be hesitant to play this plus-money prop, but we will take our chances. In the past four games, the All-Star point guard is producing 35.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder will put their three-game winning streak on the line tonight as they head to Toronto to play Pascal Siakam and the Raptors at 7:30 p.m. They are 6-2 this month, a far cry from where they were after the All-Star break (0-4 heading into March). The Thunder and Raptors are fighting for playoff positioning down the stretch, so every game is important. The Thunder (34-35) have a strong shot at getting into the playoffs.

The Toronto Raptors host the red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder tonight. The pregame narrative: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been getting buckets all season and ...

[ NBA odds ](https://online.northstarbets.ca/page?key=ej0xMzUzNDc2MiZsPTEzNTM0OTEwJnA9MTc2OTk%3D) as of 10:58 p.m. What’s been especially encouraging is Barnes’ uptick in shot attempts. [ Giddey over 7.5 rebounds (-120) ](https://online.northstarbets.ca/page?key=ej0xMzUzNDc2MiZsPTEzNTM0OTEwJnA9MTcxMjc%3D&utm_source=thestar&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=NorthStarBetsawareness2023_NorthStarBets_&utm_content=custom/tracking_textlink): OKC’s swingman has cleared this mark in four of his past six games and hasn’t fallen below seven boards in that span. [ Barnes over 16.5 points (-120) ](https://online.northstarbets.ca/page?key=ej0xMzUzNDc2MiZsPTEzNTM0OTEwJnA9MTcxMjc%3D&utm_source=thestar&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=NorthStarBetsawareness2023_NorthStarBets_&utm_content=custom/tracking_textlink): Barnes hasn’t exactly been a prolific scorer this season, but he’s posted three straight games with 18-plus points and that has us confident heading into tonight’s matchup. [Sign up here](https://www.northstarbets.ca/register?utm_medium=&utm_campaign=&utm_content=%3Futm_source%3D&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=&utm_content=&clientType=sportsbook#home). [ Best Bet ](https://online.northstarbets.ca/page?key=ej0xMzUyODU0NyZsPTEzNTI4NTQzJnA9MTQ5OTc%3D&utm_source=thestar&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=NorthStarBetsawareness2022_NorthStarBets__&utm_content=custom/tracking_textlink): Gilgeous-Alexander over 31.5 points (-105) [per FantasyPros](https://www.fantasypros.com/daily-fantasy/nba/fanduel-defense-vs-position.php) — but we’re still bullish on this play. Key stat: SGA has cleared this line in 31 of 58 games this season (53.4%). ET on 03/16/2023. The Toronto native has put up 31.3 points per game this season (fifth-most in NBA) but he’s been on a particularly impressive tear lately. He’s shooting a blistering 51.8% from the field in that span and is making exactly 40.0% of his shots from deep. MVP odds