Denver’s Nene Hilario leads the NBA with a 63.3 percent field goal mark.
San Antonio, armed with the NBA’s best record, faces a tough task of playing on back-to-back nights when they meet the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. The Spurs are 20-3 straight up and 15-7-1 against the spread heading into Wednesday’s home matchup against Milwaukee, not suffering a loss since a Dec. 1 road upset against the Los Angeles Clippers.
San Antonio and Denver have not played each other yet this season, but the teams meet again next Wednesday.
Don Best's Real Time Odds has the Spurs as slight one-point road ‘chalk’ over the Nuggets, with the total set at 211. TNT will provide coverage of this contest beginning at 7:35 p.m. PT from Denver’s Pepsi Center.
San Antonio has won five games in a row SU and four consecutive contests ATS after throttling Portland Sunday as a 7 ½-point home favorite, 95-78. The combined 173 points never seriously threatened the 193-point closing total, helping the ‘under’ improve to 5-1 the previous six outings.
The Spurs outscored the Blazers in every quarter, and finished the contest by shooting 43 percent (32-of-74) from the field and 53 percent (9-of-17) from behind the arc. The defense limited Portland to just 38 percent (33-of-87) from the field and 33 percent (5-of-15) from 3-point land.
San Antonio’s George Hill led all scorers with 22 points in 28 minutes, while shooting guard Manu Ginobili added 18 and four assists. Veteran center Tim Duncan had eight points and 13 rebounds in the victory, while point guard Tony Parker provided 14, six rebounds and six assists.
Denver (15-9 SU, 8-14-2 ATS) is quietly putting together a solid season in the very competitive Northwest Division. The Nuggets are currently in third place, two games behind Utah and trailing Oklahoma City by just a half-game.
Denver has alternated SU and ATS wins and losses its last four games after Tuesday’s victory over Orlando as a two-point home underdog, 111-94. The combined 205 points landed directly on the closing total, ending back-to-back ‘over’ outings.
The Nuggets broke open a close contest by outscoring the Magic in the fourth quarter, 32-16. Denver also won the rebounding battle, 40-34, while dishing out more assists, 24-20. The Nuggets shot a solid 54 percent (43-of-80) from the field, and 42 percent (11-of-26) from behind the arc.
Small forward Carmelo Anthony paced the offense with 35 points and 11 rebounds, while center Nene added 10 and 10. Point guard Ty Lawson chipped in with 16 and six assists, while backcourt-mate Arron Afflalo added 15 and four.
The road team has won the last four meetings in the San Antonio-Denver series SU and ATS, with the ‘under’ prevailing each time. This marks the first matchup of this season between the two teams. The closest score between the Spurs and Nuggets during those matchups was seven points. The underdog road team is 8-0 ATS the previous eight encounters.
San Antonio guard Tony Parker is ‘probable’ versus the Nuggets due to an injured finger. The Spurs follow this matchup with a three-game homestand against Memphis, Phoenix and the Nuggets.
Denver guard Chauncey Billups is ‘out’ due to a wrist injury, while forward Chris Andersen will also not play due to a bad back. The Nuggets conclude a three-game homestand with Saturday’s meeting with Minnesota.
San Antonio is 9-2 ATS its last 11 games against Northwest opponents, and the team is 6-2-1 ATS its past nine road outings. The ‘under’ is 9-3-1 in the Spurs’ previous 13 matchups versus Northwest opponents.
Denver is just 4-10-1 ATS its last 15 outings overall, and just 2-5-1 ATS the previous eight home games. The ‘over’ is 7-2-1 in the Nuggets’ past 10 home endeavors.