Oklahoma City Thunder vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, Preview and Odds - 12/29/2023

Game Time: 9:00 pm ET, Friday, December, 29, 2023

Venue:  Ball Arena, Denver, CO

Where to Watch:  ALT

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Thunder +4, Nuggets -4; Over/Under:  229.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Thunder +4, Nuggets -4; Over/Under:  229.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Thunder +4, Nuggets -4; Over/Under:  229.5 points

Oklahoma City Thunder:  20-9 (2nd place, Northwest Division)

Denver Nuggets:  22-10 (3rd place, Northwest Division)

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Oklahoma City Thunder:  7-3 last 10

Denver Nuggets:  8-2 last 10

The Thunder are entering this game with a 20-9 record overall and they are 8-4 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 2 game winning streak with wins coming against the Minnesota Timberwolves and the New York Knicks in their last game. Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander each led the team in points in that game with 36 while Chet Holmgren was next on the team with 22 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team in assists in that game with 8 while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team in rebounds with 7. They were 54.4% from the field, 43.8% from 3-point range, and 77.3% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 121.3 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 113.6 PPG against them. The Thunder have an ATS record of 20-8-1 this season and their O/U record is 18-11.

The Nuggets are entering this game with a 22-10 record overall and they are 12-2 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 5 game winning streak with wins coming against the Dallas Mavericks, the Toronto Raptors, the Brooklyn Nets, the Charlotte Hornets, and the Golden State Warriors in their last game, but this is also the 2nd game of a back-to-back for them with their game against the Memphis Grizzlies still to be played on Thursday night. In their game against the Warriors, Jamal Murray led the team in points in that game with 28 while Nikola Jokić was next on the team with 26 points. Nikola Jokić led the team in assists in that game with 8 while Nikola Jokić led the team in rebounds with 14. They were 48.8% from the field, 41.2% from 3-point range, and 81.3% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 115.1 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 110.2 PPG against them. The Nuggets have an ATS record of 14-17-1 this season and their O/U record is 12-20.

The current betting odds have the Thunder listed as a 4 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Thunder have looked really good in their games this season with their 20-9 record overall which has them right near the top of the West and even above the Nuggets in the standings. They are 8-4 in their road games too and are going to be rested for this game, coming in on a 2 game win streak. Meanwhile, the Nuggets have also looked really good in their games this season with their 22-10 record overall which has them near the top of the West, but they are actually in 3rd place of their own division as the 2 stronger teams in the West come from the Northwest. The Nuggets have looked a lot better in their home games this year with their 12-2 home record but they are also playing this game on a back-to-back and have a tough game against the Grizzlies with Ja Morant starting to surge now. The Thunder are going to be focused in this game as they want to keep their lead over Denver in the standings and the Thunder have even looked like one of the best teams in the NBA this season. The Thunder are live to win this game outright with the Nuggets being in a bad situation here but even if the Nuggets do win, the Thunder can keep this close enough to make it go down to the wire. The best way to place a bet here is on the Thunder to cover the spread in this game. 

Thunder Nuggets Prediction:  Our NBA Pick for Friday, December, 29, 2023 (9:00 pm ET start time) is Thunder 124 Nuggets 120.

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Oklahoma City Thunder: 20-8 ATS in all games. 8-3 ATS in road games. 24-13 ATS vs. division opponents. 9-2 ATS after a game committing 10+ less turnovers than opponents. 12-7 UNDER after scoring 125 points or more 2 straight games. 35-25 UNDER after 4 straight games where they made 47% of their shots or better.

Denver Nuggets: 14-25 ATS vs. division opponents. 2-6 ATS when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days. 9-5 UNDER in home games. 8-4 UNDER revenging a close loss vs opponent of 3 points or less.

Oklahoma City Thunder:  J. Williams (PF) Ques Fri - Hip.

Denver Nuggets:  A. Gordon (PF) Out Thurs - Face. V. Cancar (SF) Out indefinitely - Knee.

“I thought we really got into our depth in the first half and we were able to keep the minutes under control and still have control of the game. We played a lot of different guys and we had a very balanced rotation minutes-wise in the first half, which allows you to hit the gas in the second half with the higher-minute guys.” - Mark Daigneault after his team’s win against the Knicks in their game on Wednesday.

“We closed the fourth and we had a lot of guys step up and make timely plays down the stretch of a close game. Winning makes a world of difference.” - Michael Malone after his team’s win against the Warriors in their Christmas Day game on Monday.

PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

SG Josh Giddey

SF Luguentz Dort

PF Jalen Williams

C Chet Holmgren

PG Jamal Murray

SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

SF Michael Porter Jr.

PF Peyton Watson

C Nikola Jokic

PPG: S. Gilgeous-Alexander (31.1)

APG: S. Gilgeous-Alexander (6.5)

Reb/G: C. Holmgren (7.8)

PPG: N. Jokic (26.4)

APG: N. Jokic (9.2)

Reb/G: N. Jokic (12.3)

Coaches:

Oklahoma City Thunder: Mark Daigneault (4th season)

Denver Nuggets: Michael Malone (9th season)