NBA Betting Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors Game 2 Odds

The Golden State Warriors lost only once at home before Monday’s 108-102 setback against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

The defending NBA champion Warriors now hope to bounce back from that surprising defeat as 8.5-point betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark for Game 2 on Wednesday versus the Thunder.

Golden State closed as 7.5-point chalk in Game 1, and that has been the final number in the last three home meetings with Oklahoma City, according to the OddsShark NBA Database.

Some early desperation for the Warriors may be factored in to the Game 2 line, as they have not dropped consecutive games since last year’s NBA Finals versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. They went on to take the last three games to win the title in six.

The Thunder had lost all three regular-season meetings with Golden State, going 0-2-1 against the spread, along with six of seven straight up prior to Game 1.

But Oklahoma City followed the same blueprint that helped the team upset the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the second round, playing great defense down the stretch to limit possessions and put pressure on the Warriors, who were outscored 23-14 in the fourth quarter and 61-42 in the second half after leading 60-47 at halftime.

Russell Westbrook led the Thunder by scoring 24 of his game-high 27 points in the second half, adding 12 assists and seven steals. Westbrook and teammate Kevin Durant outscored Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson 53-51 despite making only 17-of-51 shots from the field (33.3 percent).

Curry and Thompson made up the NBA’s highest-scoring duo this season, averaging half a point more than Westbrook and Durant. Curry missed five of the six shots he took in the fourth quarter and had seven turnovers, and he will need to play better for the Warriors to even the series.

The under has cashed in three of the past four meetings following Game 1, and Golden State dropped from a heavy -400 favorite (bet $400 to win $100) to win the series down to -175. The Thunder were +330 underdogs (bet $100 to win $330) and moved to +155.