San Antonio Spurs (1-0) vs. Denver Nuggets (1-0)
October 22, 2021 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Denver Nuggets -7; Over/Under: +219
(Get latest betting odds)
The Denver Nuggets play host to the San Antonio Spurs at the Ball Arena on Friday night.
The San Antonio Spurs will be looking to stay hot after making light work of the Magic in a 123-97 home win on Wednesday. Devin Vassell led the team in scoring with 19 points, Lonnie Walker added 17 points while Derrick White chipped in with 16 points. As a team, the Spurs shot a healthy 50 percent from the field and 13 of 30 from the 3-point line, but it was their passing and balanced scoring that was the key to victory as they tallied a total of 32 assists and had seven players finish in double figures in scoring.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets are aiming for a second straight win after taking down the Suns in an impressive 110-98 road win on Wednesday. Nikola Jokic led the team with 27 points, 13 rebounds and two assists, Will Barton added 20 points and five assists while Michael Porter Jr. chipped in with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. As a team, the Nuggets shot a healthy 53 percent from the field and 17 of 39 from the 3-point line as they struggled early and fell behind by as many as 15 points, before taking over the game in the second half where they outscored the Suns by 59-40.
Looking at the betting trends, the Spurs are 14-6-1 ATS in their last 21 road games, 1-4-1 ATS in their last six games against a team above .600 and 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games following a win of more than 10 points. The Nuggets are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 1-4 ATS in their last five games playing on one days rest.
The Spurs shipped away all of their veteran talent in the offseason, but they’ve come out firing in their first game as a new team which is typical of teams coached by Gregg Popovic. The Nuggets have started their season with a bang themselves after rallying back from a 15-point deficit against the highly-touted Suns, so they will take plenty of confidence from that win. I like the Nuggets to get their second win of the season behind another big game from Jokic, but I think the Spurs are good enough to hang around and get the cover.
