The Atlanta Hawks and the Denver Nuggets duke it out at the Ball Arena on Friday night.
The Atlanta Hawks have been in a slump as they’ve lost seven of their past eight games overall and they will be hoping to arrest a five-game slide after getting routed by the Jazz in a 110-98 road loss on Tuesday. Kevin Huerter drained six 3-pointers to lead the team with 28 points, Trae Young added 27 points with six assists while Clint Capela chipped in with 13 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. As a team, the Hawks shot 43 percent from the field and 18 of 35 from the 3-point line but defensively, they just had no answer for the Jazz who took a double-digit lead at halftime before pouring in 33 points in the third quarter to push the margin out to 18 points.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have been in fine form as they’ve won seven of their first 11 games overall and they will be aiming for a fourth straight victory after outlasting the Pacers in a 101-98 home win on Wednesday. Will Barton led the team with a season-high 30 points on 11 of 19 shooting, Zeke Nnaji added 19 points off the bench while Jeff Green chipped in with 12 points. As a team, the Nuggets shot 42 percent from the field and 12 of 30 from the 3-point line as they survived a late run from the Pacers to pull off the win despite missing their best players in Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr.
Looking at the betting trends, the Hawks are 1-10 ATS in their last 11 road games, 0-6 ATS in their last six games against a team with a winning record and 0-5 ATS in their last five games overall. The Nuggets are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games playing on one days’ rest and 2-5 ATS in their last seven home games against a team with a road record below .400.
Head to head, the over is 4-0 in the last four meetings overall and the Hawks are 9-3 ATS in the last 12 meetings overall.
Michael Porter Jr remains out, but the Nuggets should have their main big man in Nikola Jokic back in action in a major boost to a team that should already be full of confidence after winning without him on Wednesday. The Hawks are coming into this one as the fresher team, but they’ve been in a major slump lately, so it’s hard to back them in this spot. The Hawks are 9-3 ATS in the last 12 meetings overall, but with the line so short, I’m sticking with the Nuggets at home.