Halftime Report
Only two more quarters stand between the Thunder and the win they were favored to collect coming into this evening. After two quarters their offense has really been able to impose its will, dominating the Grizzlies 76-50.
The Thunder entered the match having won five straight and they’re just two quarters away from another. Will they make it six, or will the Grizzlies step up and spoil it? We’ll know soon.
Who’s Playing
Memphis Grizzlies @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Current Records: Memphis 22-10, Oklahoma City 25-5
How To Watch
- When: Sunday, December 29, 2024 at 7 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: $77.77
What to Know
After two games on the road, the Thunder are heading back home. They just played last yesterday, but they’ll still welcome the Memphis Grizzlies at 7:00 p.m. ET on Sunday at Paycom Center. The Thunder’s defense has only allowed 103.2 points per game this season, so the Grizzlies’ 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 216.5, but even that wound up being too high. They came out on top against the Hornets by a score of 106-94 on Saturday.
The Thunder were working as a unit and finished the game with 29 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as the Hornets only posted 17.
The Grizzlies’ season wasn’t pretty last year but it’s starting to look like struggles are in the rearview. They walked away with a 132-124 win over the Pelicans on Friday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Memphis.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead the Grizzlies to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jaren Jackson Jr., who scored 33 points in addition to five rebounds and four steals. What’s more, Jackson Jr. also racked up four threes, the most he’s had since back in November. Another player making a difference was Ja Morant, who went 8 for 11 en route to 25 points plus seven assists.
Oklahoma City is on a roll lately: they’ve won 14 of their last 15 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 25-5 record this season. As for Memphis, their victory bumped their record up to 22-10.
Going forward, the Thunder are the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 6.5 points. This contest will be their 23rd straight as the favorites (so far over this stretch they are 13-9 against the spread).
Sunday’s game is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: The Thunder haven’t given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 11.1 turnovers per game (they’re ranked first in turnovers per game overall). It’s a different story for the Grizzlies, though, as they’ve been averaging 16.2. Given the Thunder’s sizable advantage in that area, the Grizzlies will need to find a way to close that gap.
Odds
Oklahoma City is a solid 6.5-point favorite against Memphis, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Thunder as a 7.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 230 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Oklahoma City has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Memphis.
- Mar 16, 2024 – Oklahoma City 118 vs. Memphis 112
- Mar 10, 2024 – Oklahoma City 124 vs. Memphis 93
- Dec 18, 2023 – Oklahoma City 116 vs. Memphis 97
- Apr 09, 2023 – Oklahoma City 115 vs. Memphis 100
- Dec 17, 2022 – Oklahoma City 115 vs. Memphis 109
- Dec 07, 2022 – Memphis 123 vs. Oklahoma City 102
- Nov 18, 2022 – Memphis 121 vs. Oklahoma City 110
- Mar 13, 2022 – Memphis 125 vs. Oklahoma City 118
- Dec 20, 2021 – Oklahoma City 102 vs. Memphis 99
- Dec 02, 2021 – Memphis 152 vs. Oklahoma City 79
