We’ve got a matchup of two of the top-five teams in the league by winning percentage on Friday’s NBA schedule as the New York Knicks will host the Oklahoma City Thunder in an interconference showdown. New York is 25-13 overall and 12-5 at home, while Oklahoma City is 30-6 overall and 13-4 on the road. The Thunder defeated the Knicks, 117-107, in Oklahoma City last Friday, and the Thunder won both head-to-head contests last year.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Thunder are favored by 4 points in the latest Thunder vs. Knicks odds, according to the SportsLine consensus. The over/under is 225.5 points. Before entering any Knicks vs. Thunder picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. The model enters Week 12 of the 2024-25 NBA season on a sizzling 133-97 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning more than $3,000. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on New York vs. Oklahoma City. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for the Knicks vs. Thunder:
- Thunder vs. Knicks spread: Thunder -4
- Thunder vs. Knicks over/under: 225.5 points
- Thunder vs. Knicks money line: Thunder: -184, Knicks: +153
- NYK: The Knicks are 9-7-1 against the spread (ATS) at home this season
- OKC: The Thunder are 5-1 ATS over their last six games
- Thunder vs. Knicks picks: See picks at SportsLine
- Thunder vs. Knicks streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why the Knicks can cover
The Knicks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 112-98 victory over the Raptors on Wednesday with the losing skid coming immediately after a New York nine-game winning streak was ended by OKC. But two of those three losses came on the road, and the third was without Karl-Anthony Towns, who was out with a knee injury. Towns returned against the Raptors and had 27 points and 13 rebounds. He’s questionable for Friday as is Miles McBride (hamstring), so those are injuries to monitor leading up to the game.
Even if Towns can’t play, the Knicks have plenty of productive offensive pieces, led by Jalen Brunson. The 28-year-old is 12th in the league in scoring (25.0 points per game) and eighth in assists (7.6 per game) coming off his first All-Star season and finishing fifth in the NBA MVP voting. Mikal Bridges has become a more impactful scorer lately with at least 24 points in three of his last five games, and alongside talents like Josh Hart and OG Anunoby in the lineup, New York could begin another winning streak at Madison Square Garden. See which team to pick here.
Why the Thunder can cover
The Thunder had their 15-game winning streak — not including their 97-81 loss to the Bucks in the 2024 NBA In-Season Tournament final, which doesn’t count toward their overall record — snapped in a 129-122 loss to the Cavaliers on Wednesday in a matchup of the two best teams by winning percentage. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points in the loss, and he’s third in the league in scoring at 31.3 ppg as he’s become one of the most consistent scorers in the league, averaging more than 30 ppg in each of the previous two seasons as well.
The Thunder have the No. 2 scoring defense (103.5 ppg) to lead them to the second-best record in the NBA at 30-6 (.833). They are holding opponents to a league-low 42.8% from the field while allowing the fewest points in the paint (41.9 ppg). The Thunder have lost back-to-back games only once all season, and Oklahoma City is 8-3-2 ATS against the Eastern Conference this season. See which team to pick here.
How to make Thunder vs. Knicks picks
The model has simulated Knicks vs. Thunder 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under, and it also says one side of the spread has all the value. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Thunder vs. Knicks, and which side of the spread has all the value? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Knicks vs. Thunder spread you need to jump on, all from the model that is on a 133-97 roll on top-rated NBA picks since last season, and find out.
