Denver Nuggets (19-18) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (13-25)
January 9, 2022 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Oklahoma City Thunder +6.5; Over/Under: +216
(Get latest betting odds)
The Oklahoma City Thunder play host to the Denver Nuggets at the Paycom Center on Sunday night.
The Denver Nuggets have been in decent shape recently as they’ve won four of their past six games overall and they will be looking to build some momentum after taking down the Kings in a 121-111 home win on Friday. Nikola Jokic led the team with 33 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, Jeff Green added 18 points on seven of nine shooting while JaMychal Green and Monte Morris each scored 13 points. As a team, the Nuggets shot a healthy 55 percent from the field and 12 of 34 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 35 points in the first quarter to take the early double-digit lead, before going on a final push in the fourth quarter to lead by as many as 21 points.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been in a real funk lately as they’ve lost six of their past eight games and they will be hoping to snap a three-game skid after getting thrashed by the Timberwolves in a 135-105 home loss on Friday. Luguentz Dort led the team with 18 points, Aaron Wiggins added 13 points with seven rebounds and four assists while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander chipped in with 12 points and six assists. As a team, the Thunder shot just 40 percent from the field and 15 of 44 from the 3-point line but the writing was on the wall early in this one as they allowed 41 points in the second quarter to trail by 16 points at halftime and things only worsened in the second half. Mike Muscala scored just nine points on three of nine shooting off the bench while Jeremiah Robinson-Earl finished scoreless on zero of six shooting.
Looking at the betting trends, the Nuggets are 1-6 ATS in their last seven Sunday games and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games following a win. The Thunder are 5-1 ATS in their last six games against a team with a winning record, 6-1 ATS in their last seven home games and 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games overall.
Head to head, the Nuggets are 7-2 ATS in the last nine meetings in Oklahoma City and the Nuggets are 13-3 ATS in the last 16 meetings overall.
The Nuggets are starting to heat up as they’re slowly getting some players back and they will be eager to stay hot after beating the Kings on Friday, while the Thunder have been in a real slump lately their confidence took another major hit after getting blown out by 30 points in their last outing. I think we’re going to see the Thunder come out firing in this one, but I’m sticking with the Nuggets to pull away in the second half behind another big night from Jokic.
