12/19/18 Sports Betting Matchup Breakdown: Oklahoma City Thunder at Sacramento Kings

The Oklahoma City Thunder came back from a 26-point deficit to cover as +2.5-point underdogs and beat the Houston Rockets straight up 117-112. Paul George and James Harden easily flew past their point totals (28.5, 38.5), scoring 45 and 42 respectively. Russell Westbrook (21.5) added 21 points and a ninth straight triple-double, making the Under on his points 8-2 in his last 10 games. The Thunder are now 17-12 ATS on the road and 32-23 ATS overall. Here’s the morning sports betting breakdown.

What to Watch on Sunday

The Philadelphia 76ers open as 7-point favorites hosting the Los Angeles Lakers, with a game total of 234. The 76ers will be playing their second game with Tobias Harris, while the Lakers are coming off a big win in Boston. 

Prop Shop: JJ Redick 17.5 Points

Speaking of the 76ers, if Friday night is any indication, JJ Redick might to be the biggest beneficiary of Philadelphia’s blockbuster trade. Redick scored a season-high 34 points on 11 of 15 shooting with Harris helping stretch the floor. 34 points is certainly an outlier, and there are plenty of mouths to feed in Philly, but it’ll be interesting to see to what extent Harris’ presence will open up scoring opportunities for the veteran guard.

Stat of the Day

The Thunder weren’t the only team that overcame a major deficit to cover the spread and win outright Saturday night. The Clippers (+11.5, +600) came back from a 28-point deficit (!) to beat the Celtics 123-112. This marks the first time in 20 years that two teams have come back from 25+ point deficits on the same day.

Duke Flexes In Virginia

No. 3 Duke (+2) covered the spread by 12 points, beating No. 2 Virginia 81-71. Bettors who took Over 136 had little to sweat here, in what was an unusually high scoring game relative to the game total for the two teams.  And somehow Zion managed to get his fingers on this. Even more impressive at full speed, must be see at slow-motion:

No. 25 Cincinnati takes on No. 12 Houston in tomorrow’s lone Top 25 matchup. Houston opened as 5-point favorites, and the game total is 132. The two teams are tied at the top of the AAC, so this is a pivotal game in determining who will end the season as conference champions.

The Octagon Gets Chalky

Israel Adesanya (-585) defeated 43-year-old UFC legend Anderson Silva in a unanimous decision, also a surprisingly entertaining fight. The match unexpectedly turned into the main event of UFC 234 after Robert Whittaker was forced to withdraw from his highly anticipated match against Keven Gastelum due to a hernia. 10 of 11 favorites won in UFC 234, and the only “upset” really wasn’t much of an upset: Ricky Simon (-105) over Rani Yahya (-125).

Favorites Enjoy AAF Debut 

Orlando Apollos (-4.5) dominated the Atlanta Legends 40-6, and the San Antonio Commanders (-3) beat Mike Martz’s San Diego Fleet 15-6 in a low scoring affair.  Read about today’s AAF matchups here.

If you didn’t tune in to watch the AAF last night here’s what you missed: 

And no. No flag was thrown.