Oklahoma City Thunder vs Sacramento Kings Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 09/04/2024, 05:00  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 09/04/2024 at 12:00 in NBA Prediction

The Oklahoma Thunder will welcome the Sacramento Kings to the Paycom Center for a Western Conference showdown on Tuesday night. The hosts are 53-25 and third in the Western Conference, while the visitors are 45-33 and eighth in the Conference standings. 

The Kings, currently trailing the Suns by one win with four games remaining, are pushing to break into the top six. They enter this matchup fresh off a commanding 107-77 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on the road, led by De'Aaron Fox with 20 points and Domantas Sabonis contributing a double-double with 18 points and 20 rebounds. Sacramento ranks ninth in scoring in the NBA, averaging 116.7 points per game, while Oklahoma City's defense is ranked 14th, allowing 113.5 points per game. Despite Sacramento's defensive ranking of 17th, with a defensive rating matching that position, they have shown recent improvement, holding opponents to just 99.3 points per game over their last three outings, the best in the league during that span. Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter will be unavailable for Sacramento.

Meanwhile, the Thunder remain in contention for the top seed in the West, just one win behind the Timberwolves and Nuggets. They recently halted a three-game losing streak with a crucial 121-118 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. Leading the charge was Josh Giddey, who notched a triple-double with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists, while Aaron Wiggins contributed 26 points. Offensively, the Thunder rank third in the NBA, averaging 119.8 points per game, which is 4.7 points more than the 115.1 points the Kings allow on average. However, defensively, the Thunder sit at 14th, conceding an average of 113.5 points per game, though their recent average of 126.3 points allowed over the last three games highlights a need for improvement. Jalen Williams is unavailable for OKC, while Gordon Hayward and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are questionable.