The Miami Heat invade the Ball Arena to do battle with the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.
The Miami Heat have been in great form lately as they’ve won six of their past eight games, but they will be hoping to bounce back after getting routed by the Suns in a 106-86 road loss last night. Jimmy Butler led the team with 18 points and eight assists, Duncan Robinson added 15 points while Goran Dragic chipped in with 12 points off the bench. As a team, the Heat shot just 37 percent from the field and nine of 44 from the 3-point line as they poured in 34 points in the first quarter to take an early 13-point lead, but it was all downhill after they managed just 16 points in the second quarter, before going ice-cold in the fourth quarter where they scored just 16 points in a sad finish.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have been in great shape as they’ve won 17 of their past 22 games overall and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after falling to the Warriors in a 116-107 road loss on Monday. Nikola Jokic led the team with 27 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, Michael Porter Jr. added 24 points while Jamal Murray chipped in with 17 points on five of 15 shooting. As a team, the Nuggets shot 47 percent from the field and eight of 26 from the 3-point line as they took the narrow lead at halftime, before getting ambushed in the third quarter where the Warriors exploded for 43 points to put the game out of reach early. The Nuggets just had no answer for the Warriors’ Stephen Curry who scorched them for 53 points.
Looking at the betting trends, the Heat are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 road games, 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against a team above .600 and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games overall. The Nuggets are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games playing on one days’ rest.
Head to head, the under is 4-1 in the last five meetings overall and the Heat are 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings overall.
The Heat will be so disappointed with how they fizzled out last night against the Suns as they were in great form before the loss and the same can be said for the Nuggets who were rolling before getting stopped by the Warriors on Monday. It’s hard to split these two teams at the moment, but the Nuggets have been the more consistent team this season and I think they’ll cover this short line.