Miami Heat (13-15) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (11-16)
December 14, 2022 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: Oklahoma City Thunder +5; Over/Under: +227
(Get latest betting odds)
The Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder duke it out a the Paycom Center on Wednesday night.
The Miami Heat have been in decent form as they’ve split their last six games and they will be eager to stay hot after outlasting the Pacers in a gritty 87-82 road win on Monday. Bam Adebayo led the team in scoring with 22 points, 17 rebounds and three assists, while Jimmy Butler tallied 20 points with seven rebounds and five assists, but no other player finished in double figures in scoring. As a team, the Heat shot just 38 percent from the field and nine of 34 from the 3-point line which isn’t enough to win on most nights, but they played great defense to hold the Pacers to just 35 percent shooting from the field and just 18 points in the fourth quarter to escape with the narrow win.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been in rough shape as they’ve lost eight of their last 12 games overall and they will be hoping to arrest a three-game skid after falling short to the Mavericks in a 121-114 road loss on Monday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 42 points on 14 of 23 shooting, Jalen Williams added 17 points on eight of 13 shooting while Josh Giddey chipped in with 14 points and four assists. As a team, the Thunder shot 47 percent from the field and 10 of 31 from the 3-point line as they got off to a quick start to take the early lead, but they were always playing from behind after the Mavericks exploded for 43 points in the second quarter.
Looking at the betting trends, the Heat are 2-13-1 ATS in their last 16 games following a win, 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games against a team with a losing record and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall. The Thunder are 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a loss and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games overall.
Head to head, the under is 12-5 in the last 17 meetings overall, the Heat are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings overall and the Heat are 4-1-1 ATS in the last six meetings in Oklahoma City.
The Heat are shorthanded again as Jimmy Butler is currently listed as out while the Thunder will be missing Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Kenrich Williams. The Heat really haven’t been able to get into a groove at all this season with all the injuries they’ve had to deal with, but they took down the Pacers in a good win and are coming into this one as the team in better form. The Heat are a team on the rise, but if Jimmy Butler sits out, I’ll side with the Thunder at home.
