NBA Friday best bets: Thunder stay hot in Sacramento

A 1-2 Thursday night brings our season record to 22-23. Let's finish the week strong with five plays on the second night of the In-Season Tournament.

Here are Friday's best bets.

Thunder @ Kings (+1.5, 230.5)

The Kings have struggled since De'Aaron Fox went down with an injury on Nov. 1 against the Warriors.

They have lost three of their last four, and the only win was an overtime triumph over a bad Blazers team on Wednesday night. Fox is expected back soon, but he's out for Friday night's In-Season Tournament game against the Thunder.

Fox is the engine that makes Sacramento go, and fading them while he's out has been profitable thus far.

The Thunder, meanwhile, are starting to click with two straight wins over the Cavs and Hawks. They're 6-2 against the spread, tied for the third-best mark.

Oklahoma City is top 10 in effective field goal percentage and free throw rate. The Kings, on the other hand, are towards the bottom of the league in opponent field goal percentage and send teams to the free throw line at a high rate, meaning the Thunder should have no problem scoring in Sacramento.

The Thunder also lost their first In-Season Tournament game against the Warriors last week. If they want a chance to make the knockout stage, this is a must-win. But it remains to be seen whether that's added motivation for what would typically be an ordinary Friday night matchup.

Pick: Thunder -1.5

Domontas Sabonis: Under 20.5 points

Domontas Sabonis is having an inconsistent season through seven games. He's followed great performances with poor ones. Part of the reason he's struggling is that defenses figured out how to play him, especially with Fox out of the lineup.

Sabonis struggles with his jumper, making him easier to guard. He has a difficult matchup with Chet Holmgren on Friday night, who, despite being young, is a good rim-protector and averaging over two blocks per game.

Although he's coming off a 27-point performance in 40 minutes, Sabonis has only gone over 20 points in three of his seven games this season.

Odds: -115 (playable to -120)

Austin Reaves: Over 23.5 PRA

After receiving a huge payday this summer, Austin Reaves is in a slump to start the season. He's a big part of the Lakers' struggles. He was supposed to be a reliable third scorer, but he's been anything but reliable through eight games.

Reaves is coming off a seven-point performance in a season-low 26 minutes. However, the Rockets destroyed the Lakers, so their starters didn't play too much.

Before that, Reaves had two 20-plus point performances, and it looked like he was turning a corner. The Lakers need Reaves to be more reliable and, after a poor showing, expect him to step up, especially if Anthony Davis is out.

Reaves has gone over this total for combined points, rebounds, and assists in three of the last four games.

Odds: -115 (playable to -130)

Jayson Tatum: Over 27.5 points

This is the perfect bounce-back spot for Jayson Tatum and the Celtics against an injury-riddled Nets squad.

Tatum scored 16 points on only 14 shots - both season lows - against Philadelphia on Wednesday night, but he's still averaging 29.7 points per game on the season and scored at least 30 in five of his seven games.

Tatum is too prolific of a scorer to have consecutive off-nights. The Celtics are 10.5-point favorites in Brooklyn, and Tatum will lead the offensive surge.

Odds: -110 (playable to -130)

Ivica Zubac: Over 8.5 rebounds

We took this in the Clippers' last game and it cashed. Oddsmakers have yet to adjust, so why not ride it again?

The Clippers have no legitimate option at backup center with Mason Plumlee out for at least the next two months.

That forces Los Angeles to play Ivica Zubac for extended minutes, which should lead to more rebounding opportunities.

The Clippers face the Mavericks on Friday night, one of the league's worst rebounding teams with the NBA's fourth-worst rebounding percentage.

Odds: -135 (playable to -150)

Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @soshtry for more betting coverage.