Indiana Pacers vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 04/04/2024, 19:41  by Joseph King | Modified on 04/04/2024 at 19:43 in NBA Predictions

The Indiana Pacers and the OKC Thunder lock horns on Friday night in the National Basketball Association. The Pacers are battling for automatic qualification to the NBA Playoffs, as they currently sit seventh with a 43-34 record. The Thunder are involved in a battle of their own, except it happens to be for the number one seed in the Western Conference. OKC is currently third with a 52-24 record although they trail the Nuggets and Timberwolves by just a single game in the standings.

Indiana suffered a disappointing 115-111 away defeat to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, a result which snapped the team’s two-game winning streak. They will hope it doesn’t wind up costing them as loss means they slip out of the top six and down to seventh-place, overtaken by the Miami Heat. The Pacers now face a difficult matchup with the Thunder before a huge showdown with the Heat this coming Sunday. The hosts are on a pretty solid run of form overall with six wins in their last 10. They’re currently the top scorers in the NBA with an average of 122.6 points per game.

Oklahoma City has been one of the surprises of the 2023/24 season as everything has seemingly clicked. They’re getting MVP-level output from the scintillating Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and have seen a number of their young talents take incredible leaps forward this season. The Thunder will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak following their 135-100 blowout loss away to the Celtics. OKC has yet to lose more than two consecutive games this season, which is a testament to how consistent they have been. However, they’ll have to cope without SGA in this game after the 25-year-old has missed the last two with a quad injury. Jalen Williams, the team’s second leading scorer, is also a doubt with an ankle injury.