1st Quarter Report
The Raptors fell flat on their face against the Rockets last Friday, but memory of that harsh defeat doesn’t seem to have tripped them up today. Sitting on a score of 33-23, the Raptors have looked like the better team, but there’s still three more quarters to play.
If the Raptors keep playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 18-31 in no time. On the other hand, the Thunder will have to make due with a 34-16 record unless they turn things around.
Who’s Playing
Toronto Raptors @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Current Records: Toronto 17-31, Oklahoma City 34-15
How To Watch
- When: Sunday, February 4, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Paycom Center — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- TV: Bally Sports Oklahoma
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $3.35
What to Know
The Thunder and the Raptors are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2019, but not for long. The Oklahoma City Thunder will stay at home for another game and welcome the Toronto Raptors at 7:00 p.m. ET on February 4th at Paycom Center. The Thunder will be strutting in after a victory while the Raptors will be stumbling in from a loss.
One look at the score and it should come as no surprise that the Thunder were far and away the favorite against the Hornets. Oklahoma City was the clear victor by a 126-106 margin over the Hornets. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 73-42.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, almost dropping a double-double on 31 points and nine assists. He is on a roll when it comes to points, as he’s now scored 31 or more in the last nine games he’s played.
Meanwhile, it’s hard to win when you don’t work as a unit and post 13 fewer assists than your opponent, a fact the Raptors found out the hard way on Friday. They were the victim of a bruising 135-106 defeat at the hands of Houston. The Raptors were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 66-47.
Despite the loss, the Raptors had strong showings from Scottie Barnes, who scored 28 points along with seven rebounds, and Immanuel Quickley, who went 6 for 11 from beyond the arc en route to 25 points and 6 assists. Barnes didn’t help the Raptors’ cause all that much against the Bulls on Tuesday but the same can’t be said for this contest. Less helpful for the Raptors was Dennis Schroder’s abysmal 0-5 three-point shooting.
The Raptors struggled to work together and finished the game with only 17 assists. They are winless (0-3) when they just don’t pass the ball.
Oklahoma City has been performing well recently as they’ve won seven of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 34-15 record this season. As for Toronto, they have not been sharp recently as the team’s lost six of their last seven games, which put a noticeable dent in their 17-31 record this season.
Sunday’s matchup is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: The Thunder haven’t given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 11.7 turnovers per game (they’re ranked third in turnovers per game overall). However, it’s not like the Raptors struggle in that department as they’ve been averaging only 12.8 turnovers per game. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
The Thunder ended up a good deal behind the Raptors in their previous meeting back in March of 2023, losing 128-111. Will the Thunder have more luck at home instead of on the road?
Odds
Oklahoma City is a big 8.5-point favorite against Toronto, 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 9.5-point favorite.
The over/under is set at 238.5 points.
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Series History
Oklahoma City and Toronto both have 5 wins in their last 10 games.
- Mar 16, 2023 – Toronto 128 vs. Oklahoma City 111
- Nov 11, 2022 – Oklahoma City 132 vs. Toronto 113
- Feb 09, 2022 – Toronto 117 vs. Oklahoma City 98
- Dec 08, 2021 – Oklahoma City 110 vs. Toronto 109
- Apr 18, 2021 – Toronto 112 vs. Oklahoma City 106
- Mar 31, 2021 – Oklahoma City 113 vs. Toronto 103
- Jan 15, 2020 – Toronto 130 vs. Oklahoma City 121
- Dec 29, 2019 – Oklahoma City 98 vs. Toronto 97
- Mar 22, 2019 – Oklahoma City 116 vs. Toronto 109
- Mar 20, 2019 – Toronto 123 vs. Oklahoma City 114
