NBA Picks: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks

Darren Collison will face off against one of his former college teammates on Friday night, as the Dallas Mavericks (17-23) host the Oklahoma City Thunder (31-8) at the American Airlines Center, with the opening tip scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Sports bettors will find that the Mavericks are 4.5-point underdogs in the NBA betting odds (courtesy of SBR Forum), while the total stands at 205.5 in the market.

Collison scored a season-high 32 points the last time he played against Russell Westbrook—who he starred alongside at UCLA—but the Mavericks suffered a 111-105 overtime defeat in that affair on Dec. 27.

Let's take a closer look at this Western Conference showdown from a betting perspective, while offering up an against-the-spread pick along the way.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder currently own the NBA's best record. They will try to extend their current win streak to six games.

Forward Kevin Durant and point guard Russell Westbrook are combining to score 51.1 points per game, which is a major reason why the Thunder average a league-best 105.4 points.

Sports bettors will find that the Thunder are 5-0-1 against the spread when playing as a road favorite of 3.5 to six points this season.

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks have won a season-high four games in a row, including a 105-100 victory over the Houston Rockets as four-point home favorites on Wednesday night.

Sports bettors will find that the underdog is 21-5-1 against the spread in the last 27 meetings in this series.

Prediction

I'm going to recommend that readers play the total as one of their NBA picks on Friday night, as the UNDER is 4-1 in the last five meetings in this series when playing in the Lone Star State.

NBA Pick: Under 205.5

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