Who’s Playing
Washington Wizards @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Current Records: Washington 4-22, Oklahoma City 22-5
How To Watch
- When: Monday, December 23, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET
- Where: Paycom Center — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- TV: Fan Duel SN – Oklahoma
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $28.86
What to Know
The Thunder will be playing the full four quarters on Monday, but they’re expected to have things wrapped up well before that. They will take on the Washington Wizards in a holiday battle at 8:00 p.m. ET at at Paycom Center. The Thunder’s defense has only allowed 103.1 points per game this season, so the Wizards’ offense will have their work cut out for them.
The Thunder are headed into this one after the oddsmakers set last week’s over/under low at 217.5, but even that wound up being too high. They came out on top against the Heat by a score of 104-97 on Friday. The win made it back-to-back victories for Oklahoma City.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead the Thunder to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jalen Williams, who earned 33 points along with six rebounds. What’s more, Williams also posted a 57.1% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest he’s posted since back in November.
Meanwhile, the Wizards traveled a rocky road last season, and unfortunately for them the road hasn’t gotten any smoother so far this season. They fell 112-101 to the Bucks on Saturday.
Bilal Coulibaly put forth a good effort for the losing side as he dropped a double-double on 20 points and 12 rebounds.
The Wizards struggled to work together and finished the game with only 20 assists. They are winless (0-5) when they just don’t pass the ball.
Oklahoma City has been performing incredibly well recently as they’ve won 11 of their last 12 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 22-5 record this season. As for Washington, their loss dropped their record down to 4-22.
Monday’s game is shaping up to be a scrappy contest: The Thunder haven’t given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 11.3 turnovers per game (they’re ranked first in turnovers per game overall). It’s a different story for the Wizards, though, as they’ve been averaging 15.8. Given the Thunder’s sizable advantage in that area, the Wizards will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for the Thunder against the Wizards in their previous matchup back in February, as the squad secured a 147-106 win. In that matchup, the Thunder amassed a halftime lead of 80-57, an impressive feat they’ll look to repeat on Monday.
Odds
Oklahoma City is a big 18.5-point favorite against Washington, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 18.5-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is 226.5 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Oklahoma City and Washington both have 5 wins in their last 10 games.
- Feb 23, 2024 – Oklahoma City 147 vs. Washington 106
- Jan 08, 2024 – Oklahoma City 136 vs. Washington 128
- Jan 06, 2023 – Oklahoma City 127 vs. Washington 110
- Nov 16, 2022 – Oklahoma City 121 vs. Washington 120
- Jan 11, 2022 – Washington 122 vs. Oklahoma City 118
- Nov 26, 2021 – Washington 101 vs. Oklahoma City 99
- Apr 23, 2021 – Washington 129 vs. Oklahoma City 109
- Apr 19, 2021 – Washington 119 vs. Oklahoma City 107
- Aug 09, 2020 – Oklahoma City 121 vs. Washington 103
- Oct 25, 2019 – Washington 97 vs. Oklahoma City 85
