Oklahoma City Thunder vs Denver Nuggets betting tips and predictions for Thursday’s NBA Game on NBA TV. The Thunder have a chance to win their 4th home game in a row as they host the team that beat them earlier this season the Denver Nuggets. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Getting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back from injury has been a blessing for the Oklahoma City Thunder who are on a 3-game home winning streak after wins over the Clippers (twice) and the Orlando Magic. Their point-guard star is averaging 31.5 points per game while also shooting almost 52% from the field, plus he’s also dishing out 6.8 assist per game as well. Tonight could be the Thunder’s biggest challenge of the season yet as they try to avenge their 5-point defeat against the Nuggets they suffered 10 days ago in Denver.
The defense failed them in that game, particularly from the perimeter as they allowed the Nuggets to drain 20 threes on 38 attempts. Things have picked up slightly after that game as OKC now ranks 5th best in the NBA in opponent three-point percentage, but they cannot afford to relax against a team like the Nuggets. Denver has beaten them in 7 of the last 10 meetings, but the good news is OKC is 7-3 ATS in those games.
Denver Nuggets
A lot more than a 4-3 record after 7 games was expected from the Nuggets when the season was starting, but this team is still trying to figure things out as they implement Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray into the line-up. Those two have missed the entire season last year, so head coach Michael Malone is having issues with the rotation early on in the season. Another thing he’s having issues with is the play on the defensive end – Denver ranks just 24th in the NBA in points allowed per game giving up 117 a night.
They are the worst road defense in the NBA allowing 125.5 points per game, something that clearly needs to be addressed moving forward. Nikola Jokic is putting up numbers, but he too has had some inconsistent performances which has led them to being just 6th in the Western Conference standings. They have a pretty solid chance of winning tonight having beaten the Thunder in 14 of the last 17 meetings.
I feel like tonight’s game will be a close one, just like the one played in Denver 10 days ago which finished 122-117 in favor of the home team. The Thunder have been solid at home lately, I think they are strong enough to at least keep this game close. Let’s back them and the extra points here.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Denver Nuggets Predictions & Odds
The two teams average 114.1 and 112.3 points this season respectively, but I think the projected total of 229 points will be surpassed here. They combined for 239 points in the 1st meeting of the season which was a Nuggets home game. If we look at their points allowed per game record in road games (125.5) I think it’s pretty clear what OKC’s strategy will be in tonight’s game. Outscoring their opponent to win games isn’t anything new to this team, the total has gone over in 4 of their last 6 games and with the way their leader Gilgeous-Alexander is playing right now, they could be in line for a big scoring night. The Nuggets have also had their fair share of high scoring games with 9 of their last 13 cashing on that bet.
This team likes to run with teams early in the season, which is proven by their stat of 5 straight overs cashing in the month of November. Looking at head-to-head meetings the Over is 2-1 in the 3 most recent games while an average of 228.3 points per game have been scoring during that stretch. This being a nationally televised game also helps, the two teams will try and do their best to put in a show, so I think we can expect some offensive fireworks here. Back the over with confidence.
