Houston Rockets vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 12/14/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Houston Rockets vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Saturday, December 14, 2024

Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: ABC

The Houston Rockets (17-8) are hitting the road to Paycom Center on Saturday where they will go up against the Oklahoma City Thunder (19-5).

The Rockets stepped onto the hardwood against the Warriors and walked away with a win by a score of 91-90 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Rockets ended up finishing with 14 and the Warriors recorded 11 fouls. They also buried 12 out of their 38 shots from beyond the arc. Golden State finished 44.4% at the free throw line by converting 4 of 9 tries. Additionally, Golden State snagged 39 rebounds (11 offensive, 28 defensive) and earned 5 blocks. Golden State recorded 22 dimes and had 13 steals for this contest. Pertaining to defense, Houston allowed the other team to shoot 44.0% from the field on 37 of 84 shooting. They also doled out 23 dimes in this contest as well as forcing 22 turnovers and earning 10 steals. With respect to pulling down boards, they collected 36 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Rockets made 9 of their 10 attempts for a percentage of 90.0%. Houston walked away from the game with a 45.8% FG percentage (38 of 83) and knocked down 6 of their 27 three-point shots.

Alperen Sengun is a player who was a factor in the matchup. Sengun finished the contest at 55.6% from the field and also dished out 5 assists. He was on the hardwood for 32 mins played and snagged 11 boards. He ended up walking away with 26 points on 10 of 18 shooting.

Get all of our NBA Picks Tonight

Houston will take the court with a mark of 17-8 this year. They lose possession via turnover 13.4 times per game and as a squad are committing 20.2 fouls per contest. As a team, Houston is grabbing 49.4 boards per game and is sitting with 563 assists for the season, which is 25th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Rockets are connecting on 32.7% on three-point shots (293 of 897) and 77.1% from the charity stripe. They average 112.7 pts per contest (15th in the NBA) while going 44.0% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Rockets are able to force 15.3 turnovers per game and they draw 20.3 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 2nd in basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 545 surrendered this season. The Rockets defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 43.4% (962 of 2,219) and they surrender 44.0 rebounds per game as a group. They are giving up 34.0% on 3-point attempts and they rank 3rd in the league in points per game allowed (105.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the Thunder took home the win by a final score of 118-104 against the Mavericks. In the matter of attacking the glass, Oklahoma City permitted Dallas to get 44 in all (7 offensive). They finished the game shooting 41.7% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 15 of 36 and walked away from this one shooting 13 out of 19 from the free throw line (68.4%). The Thunder permitted the Mavericks to knock down 38 out of 80 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 47.5% for this contest. When the game finished, the Thunder finished the game shooting 46 out of 101 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.5%. Concerning shots from downtown, Oklahoma City converted 20 out of their 50 tries (40.0%). They were able to bury 6 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 85.7%. The Mavericks were called for 12 personal fouls for the game which took the Thunder to the free throw line for a total of 7 shots. They coughed up the ball 14 times, while earning 14 steals in the matchup. The Thunder were able to collect 35 defensive rebounds and 17 offensive boards totaling 52 in this contest.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pitched in for the Thunder in this contest. He made 15 out of 23 in this game for a field goal percentage of 65.2%, and totaled 8 rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 39 points in his 38 mins on the court and had 5 dimes in this matchup.

Oklahoma City has a win-loss mark of 19-5 for the year. The Thunder commit 21.0 fouls per game and they connect on 80.6% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 26.0 times per game (14th in the NBA) and they cough up possession 11.8 times per contest. Oklahoma City has accumulated 2,779 points on the season (115.8 per game) and they collect 43.8 rebounds per game. When it comes to offense, the Thunder are shooting 46.5% from the field, which is ranked 12th in basketball.

The Oklahoma City defense gives up 33.6% on 3-point shots (304 of 905) and their opponents are making 74.2% of their foul shots. They give up 24.3 dimes and 47.9 rebounds on a nightly basis, ranking them 4th and 29th in basketball. The Thunder on the defensive side of the court are 2nd in the NBA in points given up per game with 103.8. They have forced 19.2 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.7% from the field (1st in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here