NBA picks: Heat vs. Thunder prediction, odds, over/under, spread, injury report for Friday, March 8

The Miami Heat (35-27) will wrap up their brief two-game road trip with a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder (43-19) on Friday. Tipoff from the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City is set for 8 p.m. ET, and the game will air on local television. This is the second and final matchup between these teams, with OKC winning the first 128-120 in January.

Miami will be without point guard Tyler Herro (knee) and power forward Kevin Love (heel), who didn’t travel on the road trip. Shooting guard Josh Richardson will also miss the game after undergoing successful shoulder surgery on Wednesday. Oklahoma City has a clean injury report.

The Thunder are 9-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook. Oklahoma City is the -375 moneyline favorite, while Miami is installed as the +295 underdog. The point total is set at 224.

Heat vs. Thunder, 8 p.m. ET

Pick ATS: Thunder -9

Oklahoma City is the second best team against the spread in the league, with a 38-23-1 record. Miami has the 11th-worst record ATS at 30-31-1. The Heat will be playing the second game of a back-to-back after losing to the Mavericks 114-108 on Thursday. The Thunder are the best teams ATS at home covering in 21 of a possible 30 games and the second-best team ATS with one day of rest (23-13), which they have after an off day Thursday. A near nine-digit spread will be tough to cover, but Oklahoma City is healthier, coming off a win and has an extra day of rest. I think they pull it off.

Over/Under: Over 224

The point total of these teams’ first matchup finished at 248. Oklahoma City has scored at least 118 points in eight of its last 10 games. Despite some injuries, Miami has scored at least 106 points in 10 of its last 11. If these trends continue, which they should on Friday, we will see at least 224 points scored in this game. I like the over here.