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The penultimate week of the NBA season will top off tonight with a clash of playoff hopeful teams as the Denver Nuggets head east to face the Charlotte Hornets.
Denver (44-31) is trying to keep pace in a tight Western Conference playoff race and helped its cause with a 113-107 victory over the Thunder on Saturday. The Nuggets outscored Oklahoma City in the first three quarters and held off a fourth-quarter comeback attempt for the win. Nikola Jokic dropped a casual 35 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists in the victory.
Charlotte (39-36) has been one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference over the last two weeks, winning its last seven of eight games. The Hornets are 24 hours removed from spoiling Kyrie Irving’s return to Barclays Center last night, upending the Nets 119-110. LaMelo Ball was the star of the performance, dropping 33 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds.
Denver enters the game as a four-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook. The total sits at 233.5.
Nuggets vs. Hornets, 7:00 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Nuggets -4
The Hornets are an NBA-worst 3-10 against the spread this season when having no rest in between games and the conditions are ripe for the Nuggets to pick them off on the road. Lay it with Denver in this one.
Over/Under: Over 233.5
Both teams have been giving up around 115 points to opponents over their past 10 games, respectively. On the backend of a back-to-back, the Hornets won’t hold up the same intensity on defense and that could open the floodgates to a lot of points being scored on both sides. Take the over.
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