Oklahoma City Thunder vs Indiana Pacers Prediction, 12/26/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Indiana Pacers

Date: Thursday, December 26, 2024

Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

The Oklahoma City Thunder (22-5) are on their way to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday where they will play the Indiana Pacers (14-15).

The Thunder played the Heat and went home with a win by a final score of 104-97 in their last game. Oklahoma City finished the contest with a 45.3% field goal percentage (39 of 86) and buried 14 of 34 3-pointers. From the charity stripe, the Thunder made 12 of 17 shots for a percentage of 70.6%. When discussing rebounding, they earned a total of 48 with 12 of them being offensive. They also recorded 24 assists for this contest as well as forcing the opposition into 19 turnovers and earning 8 steals. Regarding defense, Oklahoma City allowed the other team to shoot 43.4% from the floor on 36 out of 83 shooting. Miami recorded 20 dimes and had 9 steals for the game. Additionally, Miami had 41 rebounds (7 offensive, 34 defensive) and earned 5 rejections. Miami walked away from this one shooting 65.0% at the charity stripe by making 13 of 20 shots. They also made 12 out of their 40 tries from three-point range. When talking about personal fouls, the Thunder ended up with 17 and the Heat racked up 16 personal fouls.

Jalen Williams is a player who was a major contributor in this contest. He walked away with 33 points on 12 out of 25 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 36 mins and also pulled down 6 rebounds. Williams walked away from this one shooting 48.0% from the floor and totaled 4 assists.

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Oklahoma City will enter this contest with a record of 22-5 this year. They cough up possession 11.9 times per game and as a unit they are committing 20.9 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Oklahoma City is pulling down 43.4 rebounds per game and has earned 690 assists so far this year, which is 21st in basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Thunder are hitting 35.2% on three-point shots (371 of 1,055) and 81.1% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 114.8 pts per game (11th in the league) while connecting on 46.5% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Thunder are forcing 19.1 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.1 fouls. They concede 32.9% from 3-point land and they are 1st in the NBA in PPG allowed (103.1). The Thunder are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.6% (975 of 2,291) and they relinquish 47.4 rebounds per game as a squad. They are currently ranked 2nd in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 644 surrendered for the season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Pacers took home the win by a final score of 122-95 against the Kings. Concerning cleaning up the glass, Indiana allowed Sacramento to grab 47 overall (15 offensive). They finished 31.6% from distance by hitting 12 out of 38 and ended up going 13 out of 17 at the free throw line (76.5%). The Pacers permitted the Kings to convert 35 of 96 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 36.5% in this game. When this game wrapped up, the Pacers walked away from this one shooting 50 for 86 from the field which gave them a rate of 58.1%. In the matter of shots from downtown, Indiana converted 17 of their 39 attempts (43.6%). They were able to knock down 5 of them for a rate of 62.5%. The Kings had 11 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Pacers to the free throw line for 8 shots. They also turned the ball over 12 times, while getting 7 steals for the matchup. The Pacers were able to corral 44 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards totaling 50 for this contest.

Pascal Siakam was important for the Pacers for the game. He buried 7 of 14 for this game for a rate of 50.0%, and totaled 10 rebounds. Siakam racked up 19 points in his 28 minutes on the court and accumulated 3 assists in this matchup.

Indiana has a win-loss record of 14-15 for the season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Pacers are shooting 49.0% from the floor, which is 4th in the league. Indiana has tallied 3,332 pts on the campaign (114.9 per game) and they snag 40.5 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 28.0 times per contest (10th in basketball) and they turn it over 14.7 times per contest. The Pacers are committing 20.0 fouls per contest and they go 79.1% from the charity stripe.

The Indiana defense surrenders 36.4% on 3-pointers (383 of 1,052) and opponents are connecting on 77.2% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 25.8 assists and 43.9 boards per game, which ranks 14th and 18th in the league. The Pacers on defense are ranked 22nd in the NBA in PPG surrendered with 116.3. They are forcing 15.1 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.6% from the field (24th in basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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