The National Basketball Association (NBA) has 13 games on the schedule for Thursday night. We’re going to highlight the doubleheader, which is televised on TNT. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Orlando Magic meet at 7:00 p.m. ET in the front end of the doubleheader, while the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves battle at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Let’s build a bankroll for the holidays with our best NBA picks for Thursday, December 19.
Thursday’s Best NBA Picks
NBA odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All NBA picks are for 1 unit
Oklahoma City Thunder (-270) at Orlando Magic (+220) | O/U 210.5 (-110/-110)
The Thunder (20-6), NBA Cup runners-up, travel to meet the Magic (17-11) at the Kia Center in Orlando.
Oklahoma City came up short against the Milwaukee Bucks, 97-81, missing out on the NBA Cup trophy in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Oklahoma City now travels to the East Coast for a back-to-back two-game quick hitter in the Sunshine State.
Oklahoma City had a five-game win and cover streak dating back to December 3rd. The Thunder have played just two games on the road against Eastern Conference teams this season. They are 2-0 straight up (SU)/against the spread (ATS) in two games while cashing the under in both of those outings.
Orlando dropped a 100-91 loss against the New York Knicks Sunday at Kia Center, failing to cover as a 4.5-point underdog. It’s been a tough go for the Magic playing without Paolo Banchero (oblique) for most of the season. Franz Wagner (oblique) has been out for the past two weeks as well. It has shown in the standings, as the Magic are just 1-3 SU in their past four games while going 2-4 ATS in their past six outings. The under has a slight 2-1 edge in the past three outings.
At home against the Western Conference, Orlando is 2-0 SU/ATS in two games this season, including a 115-110 win on December 8th as a 2-point favorite as the over (214.5) cashed. The over/under has split in those two games.
Oklahoma City has won the past three meetings in this series, while going 3-0 ATS in the span dating back to January 13, 2024. Oklahoma City is also 7-1 ATS in the past eight meetings in the series. Let’s back the Thunder to get the job done against the number. We’ll also go low on the total.
Picks: Thunder -6.5 (-110) & Under 210.5 Points (-110)
New York Knicks (+118) at Minnesota Timberwolves (-138) | O/U 214 (-110/-110)
The Knicks (16-10) and the Timberwolves (14-11) square off at Target Center in Minneapolis on Thursday night in the second end of the nationally televised doubleheader.
New York picked up the 100-91 win over the Orlando Magic last time out on Sunday, halting an 0-3 ATS skid. The under (213.5) cashed for the third consecutive game to follow up a 3-0 over run.
Minnesota racked up a 106-92 win in San Antonio as a 4.5-point favorite Sunday, moving to 6-1 SU in the past seven games, while cashing in five of the past six outings. The Under has hit at a 6-1 clip in the past seven outings, too.
Joe Ingles is listed as out due to a ‘soleus’ injury. That’s a new one for me. After a quick Google search, I found out it is a muscle in the back part of the lower leg running from just below the knee to the heel near the calf.
New York has rolled up 116.4 points per game (PPG) to rank eighth in the NBA. It is second in The Association in field-goal percentage (49.7%), three-pointer percentage (39.4%) and free-throw percentage (80.8%). However, defensively, Minnesota has allowed just 105.6 PPG to rank third in the league while allowing teams to hit just 45.4% from the field and 33.3% from behind the arc. The latter ranks second in the league.
We should see the under cash in the Twin Cities. The Timberwolves are a strong play on the Moneyline if you would prefer not to fiddle around with the points.
Picks: Timberwolves Moneyline (-138) & Under 214 Points (-110)
