Toronto Raptors (36-30) vs. Denver Nuggets (40-27)
March 12, 2022 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Denver Nuggets -5.5; Over/Under: +225
(Get latest betting odds)
The Toronto Raptors travel to the Ball Arena to do battle with the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.
The Toronto Raptors have been in decent shape as they’ve won four of their last seven games overall and they will be aiming for a third straight victory after outlasting the surging Suns in a 117-112 road win last night. Gary Trent Jr. drained eight 3-pointers to lead the team with 42 points, Pascal Siakam added 25 points with seven rebounds and 10 assists while Scottie Barnes chipped in with 15 points and five steals. As a team, the Raptors shot 44 percent from the field and 14 of 32 from the 3-point line as they took the narrow lead at halftime, before exploding for 40 points in the third quarter to push the lead out to 16 points which proved to be just enough to hold off a fourth quarter rally from the Suns.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have been on fire as they’ve won 10 of their last 12 games overall, but they will be hoping to bounce back in this one after having their four-game win streak halted by the Warriors in a 113-102 loss on Thursday. Nikola Jokic led the team with 23 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, Monte Morris added 19 points while Jeff Green chipped in with 11 points. As a team, the Nuggets shot just 41 percent from the field and seven of 31 from the 3-point line as they held the Warriors to just 21 points in the first half to lead by as many as 14 points, but they allowed 37 points in the third quarter before scoring just 18 points themselves in the fourth quarter to allow the Warriors off the hook in the end. Aaron Gordon scored just 10 points on two of 11 shooting while Austin Rivers finished with just two points on one of six shooting in 31 minutes of action.
Looking at the betting trends, the Raptors are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games playing on zero days’ rest, 20-7 ATS in their last 27 games against a team with a winning record and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall. The Nuggets are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 home games and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record.
Head to head, the over is 4-1 in the last five meetings overall, the Raptors are 0-6 ATS in the last six meetings in Denver and the Raptors are 7-22 ATS in the last 29 meetings overall.
The Raptors are coming into this meeting almost at full strength and full of confidence after taking down the Suns in a shock win last night. The Nuggets have been in great shape lately, but they could be shorthanded as Aaron Gordon, Will Barton and Zeke Nnaji are all listed as questionable here. The Raptors were in terrible shape before winning their last two games and I think they can keep it going in this one. I think the Nuggets get the win at home, but I’m leaning towards the Raptors with the points in what should be a close one.
