The New York Knicks (41-27) will look to complete a season sweep of the defending NBA champions when they visit the Denver Nuggets (48-21) Thursday evening. The Knicks have won four in a row and are rounding into form, while the Nuggets have won eight of their last 10 games and are looking like the team to beat once again. The Knicks blasted the Nuggets 122-84 in the previous meeting this season but New York is banged up entering tonight’s contest.
OG Anunoby and Julius Randle, who were both present in the first game, will be out for this one. Anunoby appears to have had a setback with his elbow, while Randle is still dealing with a shoulder issue. The Nuggets are clean on the injury front.
The Nuggets are 9.5-point favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook with the total coming in at 207.5. Denver is -440 on the moneyline while New York is +340.
Knicks vs. Nuggets, 9 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Knicks +9.5
The Knicks are 12-16-2 ATS as the underdog, but that number improves slightly to 9-10-1 ATS as the road underdog. Denver hasn’t been too shabby as the home favorite at 15-16-1 ATS, but this is too big a number to cover in a regular season game where the opponent is playing well. Even though New York is shorthanded, I’m rolling with the visitors to cover in this game.
Over/Under: Under 207.5
Both teams are hitting unders and are two of the most under-friendly teams in the league. The Knicks have gone under their totals in all but two games since the All-Star break. They are 25-43 to the over on the season. The Nuggets are 7-7 on overs since the break, but are 27-42 to the over on the season. Despite the blowout, the previous meeting also went under this line. I’ll take the under again tonight.