Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Free Pick

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Dallas will be coming off an extended Holiday break after getting blown-out 129-91 by San Antonio this past Sunday as an 11-point road underdog. It was the Mavericks third loss in a row and they are now 12-16 straight-up on the year. They are 2-4 against the spread in their last six games to fall to 13-15 ATS overall. The total has gone OVER in four of their last five outings.

The return of Dirk Nowitzki to the lineup in the loss to the Spurs, after missing the first 27 games, was a welcome sight. While he only scored eight points in 20 minutes of action, the Mavs are hoping he can make a much more significant contribution on Thursday night. Overall, Dallas is averaging 99 points a game which is ranked 10th in the NBA. However, its defense has been suspect all season long and giving-up 102.5 points a game to its opponents.

The Thunder are back in action after a 103-97 loss to Miami on Christmas Day as 2.5-point road underdogs. It was their second straight loss after reeling off 12 consecutive wins dating back to Nov.24. Overall, Oklahoma City is now 21-6 SU and 16-10-1 ATS. The total stayed UNDER the 203-point line against the Heat and has now stayed UNDER in five of its last six games.

There is little doubt that the Thunder are one of the top scoring teams in the NBA behind the potent combination of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but the addition of Kevin Martin coming off the bench to average 15.7 points a game has the team averaging 104.8 points a game. A normally stout defense that is ranked 11th in the league in points allowed (96.5) has now given up more than 100 points in four of its last nine games. They will need to tighten things up against the Mavs in order to avoid a rare third-straight loss.

Prediction

The return of Nowitzki makes Dallas a much better team but it may take some time for his full impact to be felt. That being said, count on Thunder to not lose another game especially since they will be playing this one in front of the home-town crowd.

Oklahoma City 105 Dallas 94