Denver Nuggets vs Indiana Pacers NBA Picks, Odds, Predictions 3/15/21
2021-03-15 21:00:00 EDT
The Indiana Pacers invade the Ball Arena to do battle with the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.
The Indiana Pacers have been in a bit of a rut lately as they’ve lost six of their past eight games, but they will be looking to build some momentum after snapping a two-game skid with an impressive 122-111 road win over the red-hot Suns on Saturday. Malcolm Brogdon led the team in scoring with 25 points on eight of 16 shooting, Domantas Sabonis racked up a triple-double of 22 points with 13 rebounds and 10 assists while Doug McDermott provided the spark off the bench with 22 points on nine of 13 shooting. As a team, the Pacers shot 52 percent from the field and 13 of 28 from the 3-point line as they took control of the game with 33 points in the second quarter, before outscoring the Suns by 35-20 in the third quarter to lead by as many as 21 points.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have been in great form as they’ve won seven of their past 10 games and they were riding a five-game win streak before getting stopped by the Mavericks in a 116-103 home loss on Saturday. Nikola Jokic led the team with 26 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists, Will Barton and Michael Porter Jr each scored 23 points while Jamal Murray chipped in with 10 points on four of 13 shooting, but no other player scored more than five points. As a team, the Nuggets shot just 41 percent from the field and 16 of 41 from the 3-point line as they went cold in the second quarter and trailed by 11 points going into halftime, before getting blown out in the third quarter where their margin got blown out to 21 points.
Looking at the betting trends, the Pacers are 1-5 ATS in their last six road games, 1-8 ATS in their last nine games against a team with a winning record and 1-7 ATS in their last eight games overall. The Nuggets are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games and 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 games following a double-digit loss at home.
Head to head, the over is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings overall and the Pacers are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings overall.
The Pacers really needed a solid win to steady their season and they were impressive in their win over the red-hot Suns on Saturday, while the Nuggets were riding a five-game win streak before getting stopped in their tracks by the Mavericks. The Nuggets are rightfully favorites at home in this spot, but Murray is still struggling through a terrible shooting slump, so this could be a good opportunity for the Pacers to follow their big win over the Suns with another upset in this one. I’m taking the Pacers with the points in what should be a close one.
