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Tyler Everett

By Tyler Everett

Sports Betting Editor

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Sunday afternoon's matchup between the Thunder (64-13) and the Lakers (47-30) marks OKC's second straight game against a (current) top-three team in the Western Conference.

The Thunder have the top seed and homecourt advantage in the West secured, but they're coming off a loss at Houston that snapped an 11-game winning streak.

L.A. is currently in third place in the Western Conference. With five teams (the Nuggets, Warriors, Timberwolves, Clippers and Grizzlies) less than two games behind the Lakers, the next two games for LeBron James and Co. -- both on the road in Oklahoma City -- are crucial.

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Can the Lakers stun the Thunder, who have not lost two games in a row since November?

How to Watch Lakers vs. Thunder

Lakers vs. Thunder Odds: Spread, ML, Total

Best Lakers vs. Thunder Player Props

Jalen Williams o20.5 Points (-110 at bet365) -- 1 unit

The second-leading scorer for OKC has been hot since returning to the lineup from an injury that sidelined him for seven games from March 12-25.

Williams has averaged 23.4 points in his last five games, including a 33-point night in OKC's loss to Houston on Friday night. He reached 20 points in four of those games. More impressively, he's shot just under 56 percent from the floor in that stretch.

After shooting just 8-for-19 vs. the Lakers in the only previous LA vs. OKC matchup this year, let's go with Williams to stay hot and continue to take advantage of another opponent selling out to stop MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Austin Reaves 4+ Made Threes (+200 at DraftKings) -- 0.5 units

Another hot hand coming into this game is Austin Reaves. With 61 points on 15-for-25 shooting from 3-point land in his last two games, Reaves is a tempting value play to make at least four threes in this game.

OKC has been excellent on defense all year, but I expect Lu Dort to spend more time on James and Luka Doncic than Reaves, which should set Reaves up for a big game from downtown. While he has been boom-or-bust in recent weeks, with four games with at least three made threes and three with one or fewer, I like him to have another strong showing in a huge game for L.A.

Another reason to like Reaves is how well several shooters have fared vs. the Thunder over the past few games.

OKC allowed the Rockets to shoot 13-for-29 from outside on Friday night. Before that, Detroit's Tim Hardaway Jr. went 5-for-9 on 3-pointers last Wednesday. Going back a bit further, Chicago's Patrick Williams (March 31) and Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton (March 29) both made four 3-pointers vs. the Thunder.

Lakers vs. Thunder Prediction, Best Bets

This game should be close for most of the way, but I expect the Thunder to play well coming off of a rare loss.

The Lakers have been impressive this week (outside of Thursday's loss to the Warriors), but this team also lost four of five games from March 20-27. That inconsistency makes me skeptical of its chances on the road vs. the current NBA Finals favorites.

I'm hesitant to lay this many points against LeBron, Luka and the Lakers, but I'll reluctantly take OKC to not just win, but cover. I also like the Thunder to go over their team total against a Lakers squad that has been struggling to get stops over the last couple weeks.

Lakers vs. Thunder Best Bets

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