A few years ago a Sacramento at Oklahoma City game wouldn’t draw much attention in the sports world – especially on Super Bowl Sunday – but the February 11th Kings at Thunder betting matchup is a nice appetizer to the big game. Both franchises are enjoying success in 2023/24, with OKC sitting in 4th in the Western Conference and the Kings 5th.
While the Thunder (35-17) are finally seeing the fruits of their rebuild, they do come into Sunday’s matchup as the losers of back-to-back games including a 35-point defeat to Dallas on Saturday. The Kings (30-21) meanwhile are coming off a 29-point win over the third place Nuggets on Friday night and have won 8 straight in the head to head series – yet are still +3.5 point underdogs in this spot.
Why the Kings Have Value at +3.5
It wouldn’t have been a complete shocker to see Sacramento favored on Sunday considering Oklahoma City is playing on the back to back. The Kings have also won eight straight over the Thunder and haven’t lost to OKC since November of 2021 – a trend that gives Sacramento value even on the ML.
Sacramento has gone 2-0 vs. the Thunder so far in the 2023/24 season, with their 128-123 win on December 14th being an absolute classic. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (43 points) and De’Aaron Fox (41) had an absolute duel in that game with Domantas Sabonis chipping in 18 points and 16 rebounds.
Sacramento has some momentum after a big win over the Nuggets on Friday night 135-106 to cruise past the -3 point home spread. Sabonis had his league leading 16th triple-double (17/17/10) and the Kings enjoyed a balanced night with seven players scoring at least 11 points.
Why the Thunder Have Value at -3.5
You never want to get blown out by 35 points like the Thunder did on Saturday night, but doing so on the first end of a back-to-back does have it’s privileges. Because OKC was down 17 points by the end of the 1st quarter no starter played more than 29 minutes and should be fresh for the Kings matchup. They also played an afternoon game and it’s only about an hour flight from Dallas to Oklahoma City.
The loss to the Mavericks was the second in a row for Oklahoma City, something they’ve done six times this season. The Thunder have been good at avoiding the prolonged losing streaks though, not losing three straight games yet all season.
The last two defeats for the Thunder were also on the road at Utah and at Dallas. They are back home on Sunday where they’ve won 10 of their last 12 and are 20-6 on the season. The Kings looked good on Friday vs. the Nuggets, but they also lost 133-120 at home to Detroit this week as -13.5 point favorites.
Free February 11th Kings at Thunder Betting Pick
Nobody would blame you for taking the Kings in this spot considering the recent dominance Sacramento has had over OKC in winning eight straight games in the series, including the first two this year. Both of the wins in 2023/24 were in Sacramento though, and it’s time for the Thunder to break this losing streak, which they can easily do playing at home.
Free Pick: Thunder -3.5
