NBA: DJ Augustin and Kevin Durant to inspire wins
Published:
Kevin Durant’s form makes the Thunder impossible to oppose at present and means there is little value in backing Oklahoma City to win in a single bet.
However, adding the in-form Chicago Bulls and the defensively sound Phoenix Suns could mean healthy rewards at odds of just over 11/4.
Atlanta (23-20) are 4-9 from 13 on the road and 2-6 from eight meetings with Oklahoma City (35-10) but the form of the Thunder’s Kevin Durant means the hosts should be backed even if those records were reversed.
Despite sitting out the recent win over Boston KD kept his current purple patch going with 32 points against the 76ers last time out.
The MVP elect now has two triple-doubles this season and has scored at least 30 points in 11 consecutive games.
With Durant on fire and the Thunder unbeaten in five at the Chesapeake Energy Arena a home win is a dead cert here.
Chicago (22-21) are enjoying a solid start to 2014, having gone 10-3 since the turn of the year, and look well placed to improve that run against the travelling T Wolves (23-20).
Losing Luol Deng and suffering a raft of injuries has been a blow but Chicago have seen DJ Augustin emerge as a man to call on when times are tough, with the 26-year-old averaging 20.4 over the last seven games to keep his side’s playoff hopes alive.
The Bulls are giving up 10 points fewer per game than Minnesota and have won seven straight against Rick Adelman’s side.
The Timberwolves are 1-11 when scoring less than 109 points on the road this season and with the United Center outfit conceding an average of just 92.86 this term an away win looks beyond the visitors here.
The Suns (25-18) are operating a tight defence at present as their recent display against Cleveland showed.
Phoenix conceded just six points in the third quarter and a total of 29 after the half to beat the Cavs 99-90 and are shipping nine points a game less than the struggling 76ers (14-30).
The Suns have made hard work of their recent battles with Philly, going 2-4 from six, but the 76ers current form is enough to give the visitors the nod here.
The hosts are 1-5 from their last six games and cannot even count on a home crowd to boost their performances after losing six of their last seven at the Wells Fargo Center.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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