The Oklahoma City Thunder is making its move in the Western Conference. After a slow start, OKC is pushing toward a top four seed and is aiming to track down Minnesota. The Thunder is also within shouting distance of the Spurs for the No. 3 seed. Oklahoma City has a tough game next time out when it hits the road to face off against the Denver Nuggets.
Denver is clinging to the No. 8 seed in the West so this is a crucial game for both sides. The Nuggets have played extremely well at home this season and will likely be the slight favorite despite an inferior record.
The Thunder would really make a statement with a win in this one, which would put the Timberwolves and Spurs on notice that they are making a run at a better seed on the West.
This war on the floor will go down Thursday, February 1, 2018, at 10:30 p.m. ET at the Pepsi Center. The game will be televised live on TNT.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Thursday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The Thunder is 30-20 straight up but just 22-28 against the spread. Oklahoma City has covered in 10 of 24 attempts on the road this year. The Thunder has only been the underdog five times this season and has covered in four of them.
The Nuggets are 26-24 straight up and 21-26-3 against the spread. Denver is 13-12-1 against the spread at home this season. The Nuggets are 15-17-1 against the spread as the favorite.
Previous Meetings
Oklahoma City and Denver have met twice already this season, splitting the victories in those two meetings. The Nuggets won the first matchup 102-94 on November 9th in Denver behind a double-double from Nikola Jokic and 17 points from Paul Millsap.
The second meeting on December 18th was much tighter with the Thunder escaping with a 95-94 win in Oklahoma City. Russell Westbrook had 38 points for the Thunder in that victory and the team shot 48.1 percent from the field.
Gary Harris, the Nuggets’ leading scorer this season, had 17 points and six assists in the most recent matchup against the Thunder. He averaged 20.5 points a game in January and will be a key player in this game against Oklahoma City.
These teams seem evenly-matched and should be in line for another competitive contest.
Key Stat
Eight. That’s how many games the Thunder has won in its last ten games. The team’s eight-game winning streak came to an end on Tuesday after falling 102-96 to the Wizards, and it will be looking to bounce back in this one against the Nuggets.
Included in Oklahoma City’s recent win streak were wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers. Its most recent win came last Sunday, when the Thunder beat the Sixers 122-112, marking its their third straight win scoring 120 points or more.
The Thunder went 10-4 in the month of January and will look to mirror that success in February. Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony took a little bit of time to jell early on but are playing at a high level together at this point.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Thunder is playing at a high level but Denver is really good at home. While Oklahoma City has more firepower the Nuggets are a solid team and should be able to come away with a tight victory.
Watch the spread closely, because even a Denver win won’t necessarily result in a cover as the Thunder should be able to keep this game extremely close. This one could be lower-scoring than many believe because the elevation in Denver could force the teams to slow down more than usual.
NBA Odds: Nuggets 105, Thunder 104
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