The red-hot Thunder can move into a tie with Dallas in the Western Conference standings if they can beat the Mavs in Oklahoma City for the 16th time in 21 games. Dallas hopes to have Willie Cauley-Stein in the lineup after acquiring the center from Golden State on Saturday.
- Date/Time: January 27, 8 p.m. ET
- Arena: Chesapeake Energy Arena
- TV Coverage: Fox Sports Oklahoma, Fox Sports Southwest
- Sportsbook Odds: Mavericks -1.5 | O/U 224
- Thunder vs Mavericks Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
If Dallas closes as the favorite, it’ll be just the second time the Mavs have been chalk in their last 27 visits to Oklahoma City. By the way, the only other time was a month ago, when the Thunder rallied late for a 106-101 victory as 2-point home dogs.
Dallas News & Notes
After losing starter Dwight Powell to a season-ending Achilles injury on Tuesday, the Mavericks didn’t take much time to find a replacement. Dallas traded a second-round draft pick for Willie Cauley-Stein on Saturday, and the former sixth overall pick could be in the lineup for the Mavs when they take on the Thunder.
Cauley-Stein averaged 7.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and a team-leading 1.2 blocks in 41 games for Golden State this season, starting 37 of them. He’s also scored at least 10 points on 17 occasions this year, giving Mavs fans hope that he can at least fill some of the void left behind by Powell — who scored 16-plus in five of six games earlier this month while Kristaps Porzingis was out of the lineup.
The Mavericks are playing the finale of a three-game road trip, which opened with a 133-125 win Thursday in Portland before Saturday’s 112-107 loss in Utah. Dallas is 14-5-2 ATS and 15-6 SU this year on the road, compared to 9-14-1 ATS and 13-11 SU at home.
Oklahoma City News & Notes
The Thunder roll into Monday on a five-game winning streak and on a 17-5 ATS tear in their last 22, but you can bet they’re already looking forward to the upcoming all-star break.
Oklahoma City hasn’t had more than one day off between games since Boxing Day, battling through a grueling slate that has included four back-to-backs. With Monday’s game being OKC’s 19th in the last 33 days, coach Billy Donovan will look for contributions from all comers as he spreads out the minutes.
Fortunately for the Thunder, they’ve already demonstrated they’ve got the depth to do just that. In Saturday’s 113-104 win at Minnesota, OKC got 25 points combined from rookies Darius Bazley and Luguentz Dort to overcome the absence of starters Danilo Gallinari (thumb) and Terrance Ferguson (personal).
Point guard Dennis Schroder added 26 points off the bench as seven different Thunder players scored at least 10 points for the second time in as many nights. Bazley and Dort will be leaned on heavily again if either Gallinari or Ferguson, both listed as questionable as of Sunday night, can’t return against the Mavs.
Betting Pick: Thunder +2
The betting marketplace continues to underestimate the Thunder, who are 6-1 ATS this year as home underdogs.
- The Mavs are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games vs OKC.
- The Thunder are 17-5 ATS in their last 22 games.
- The OVER is 7-2 in the Thunder’s last 9 games.
