The Oklahoma City Thunder pay a visit to the Denver Nuggets at the Ball Arena on Saturday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been in terrible shape as they’re plagued with injuries and they were riding a 10-game losing streak before they took down the Magic in a 118-102 loss on Wednesday. Theo Maledon led the team with 25 points and six assists on nine of 13 shooting off the bench, while Isaiah Roby and Tre Mann each scored 21 points. As a team, the Thunder shot 48 percent from the field and 17 of 41 from the 3-point line as they went on a ferocious 28-7 run in the second quarter to take control of the game before they poured in another 34 points in the fourth quarter to pull away and make it a blowout.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have been in a bit of a rut as they’ve lost five of their last eight games overall and they will be eager to bounce back in this one after coming up short against the Suns in a 140-130 loss on Thursday. Nikola Jokic led the team with 28 points on nine of 10 shooting, Bones Hyland added 23 points off the bench, Aaron Gordon scored 21 points while Will Barton chipped in with 17 points and eight assists. As a team, the Nuggets shot a healthy 59 percent from the field and 15 of 32 from the 3-point line as they went back and forth with the Suns in a tight contest until the fourth quarter where they leaked 36 points to finish on the wrong side of the scoreboard. A total of seven Nuggets players finished in double figures in scoring, but no one had an answer for the Suns’ Devin Booker who torched them for 49 points and 10 assists.
Looking at the betting trends, the Thunder are 25-8 ATS in their last 33 road games and 5-0 ATS in their last five games overall. The Nuggets are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games following a double-digit loss at home, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record and 1-5 ATS in their last six home games.
Head to head, the under is 3-1-1 in the last five meetings overall, the Thunder are 2-6 ATS in the last eight meetings in Denver and the Thunder are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings overall.
The Thunder will again be without a list of players including Derrick Favors, Josh Giddey and Mike Muscala, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is listed as day to day. The Nuggets are just about at full strength except for Michael Porter Jr and Jamal Murray who are both out. The Thunder were the coldest team in the league before their surprise win over the Magic on Wednesday, so it’s no surprise that the line has been set at double-digits for this one. The Nuggets have been below their best lately, but Jokic has been in terrific form and he’s getting more help from Gordon and Hyland, so while the line is quite hefty, I’m sticking with the Nuggets to get a much-needed blowout win to get their season back on track.