The NBA tips off a big six-game slate this Wednesday night with a non-conference showdown in the Big Apple between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. With both teams in the playoff chase, each side of the matchup has some fascinating storylines to track down the stretch. Each team also has some strong player prop bets to build around. Let’s take a closer look at the matchup and find some Thunder at Knicks player prop bets that make sense this Wednesday night.
In the overall matchup, the Thunder are 4.5-point road favorites in what should be a great matchup. The point total is 221.5 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Thunder have won three straight games after getting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back from his abdominal injury and have improved to 48-15 on the year, which still has them atop the Western Conference. In the Eastern Conference, the Knicks hold the No. 3 seed at 40-22, but have been especially strong at home, going 23-8 at Madison Square Garden.
Neither team has any players questionable due to injury for this matchup, with Jalen Williams, Ajay Mitchell, Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson each listed as out. It is worth noting that both teams are finishing a back-to-back after the Thunder beat the Bulls and the Knicks beat the Raptors on Tuesday.
Thunder vs. Knicks Best Prop Bets
Jared McCain o9.5 Points (-108)
McCain has been a huge pickup for the Thunder and has stepped into a big role since arriving at the trade deadline. He has played 11 games with OKC and has gone over this prop line eight times in his last nine games while averaging 14 points per game after getting acclimated and starting to play at least 20 minutes per game.
He has played two games alongside SGA since his return from injury, and McCain scored 14 points and 11 points in those two outings. He had 20 points on Tuesday since he got more usage with SGA getting the night off, but he should still serve a similar role as instant offense off the bench on Wednesday against New York.
It’s not an easy matchup, but getting this prop line at close to even money feels like great value given how productive and aggressive McCain has been since joining the Thunder. In almost any game script, he should have enough chances to go over this prop line.
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Karl-Anthony Towns o32.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-105)
KAT and the Knicks will be looking to get a statement win at home against OKC, and Towns has typically stepped up with big games in opportunities like this one. He’s coming off 39 PRA (points, rebounds and assists) on Tuesday night and has gone over this prop line in six of his last nine games, including each of his two second halves of back-to-backs during that span.
On the season, KAT is averaging 34.3 PRA, and he’s been even better at home with 35.1 PRA per game at MSG. He hasn’t faced the Thunder this season, but in two games against a similar OKC group last January, he had 43 and 34 PRA, both over this prop line.
Like McCain, KAT will be in a less-than-ideal matchup. He’ll be facing his former teammate Isaiah Hartenstein along with Chet Holmgren, but if the game stays close and competitive throughout, KAT should get enough work to get over this prop line once again.
Luguentz Dort u8.5 Points (-109)
Even with SGA out, Dort didn’t step into a large scoring role for the Thunder. He is averaging 8.6 points per game on the season, but he has come in under this prop line in each of his last four games.
Dort is a defense-first contributor who plays lots of minutes, but his low usage in a gritty game like this will likely result in him going under this prop line once again.
In the two games since SGA’s return, Dort had eight and five points. He needed overtime against the Nuggets to get to eight points, though, and even without SGA on Tuesday, he only chipped in four points. On the second night of the back-to-back, he will likely come in under this prop again while SGA carries the offensive workload.
Bonus Parlay Pick: Jalen Brunson o2.5 Rebounds (-130)
If you’re building an SGP (Same Game Parlay) from this Wednesday night showdown, adding in the over on Brunson’s boards boosts the odds of this late parlay to a juicy +1000 for these four Thunder-Knicks bets.
Brunson only had two rebounds on Tuesday in Toronto, but he had gone over this prop in 10 of his previous 11 games. Since he’ll likely get his full workload and need to post a huge game on Wednesday, he should be able to get at least three rebounds.
