The Oklahoma City Thunder have spent the majority of the season as one of the top teams in the Western Conference. However, the tables have completely turned as they have dropped four consecutive games and currently find themselves sliding down to fifth seed in the West. In addition, the Thunder are tied with the Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz with a 42-30 record and certainly want to avoid falling to the No. 8 spot, where they would likely face the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the opening round of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors have won three of their last four games, and their most recent win was a 123-114 overtime victory over the Thunder earlier this week. While the Milwaukee Bucks have spent the majority of the season in the Eastern Conference's top spot, the Raptors still are just two games behind with 10 games remaining on their schedule. The Raptors have rode on the back of Kawhi Leonard and a terrific supporting cast that has taken the NBA by storm throughout the year.

How to watch Thunder at Raptors

  • Date: Friday, March 22
  • Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Location: Scotiabank Arena -- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Streaming: fuboTV - (free trial - NBA League Pass add-on available)
  • TV: NBATV
  • Live stats: GameTracker
  • Odds: Raptors -2.5

Odds and Analysis

Check Sportsline's NBA pick sheet for all your daily odds.

Storylines

Thunder: One of the biggest issues Oklahoma City faced against Toronto the first time around was its lack of balanced scoring. All-Star guard Russell Westbrook scored 42 points, but Paul George was the only other starter that finished in double figures. Even still, George only knocked down six of his 14 field-goal attempts, so the Thunder are going to need George to be a lot more efficient against a Raptors team that is still absolutely loaded even without Kyle Lowry in the lineup.

Raptors: Toronto will be without Lowry for the second consecutive game. Lowry is dealing with a sprained ankle and Fred VanVleet will likely slide into the starting lineup once again against the Thunder. VanVleet was sensational in his start earlier this week as he scored 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, which was second on the team behind Pascal Siakam's 33 point-performance.

Game prediction, pick

The Thunder need a win in the worst way to halt their current side. Not having Lowry will hurt the Raptors, so it's very possible that the Thunder can steal one on the road this time around.