The Denver Nuggets (12-18) travel to Chesapeake Energy Arena to square off against the division rival Oklahoma City Thunder (20-10), who are currently the top team in the Northwest. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Sunday, Dec. 27 and will air on ALT and FxK.
The Thunder were beaten by the Bulls 105-96 on Friday. Kevin Durant finished with 29 points to lead the game. The Nuggets, meanwhile, are coming off a 101-86 loss at the hands of the Spurs on Saturday. Nikola Jokic had a good shooting night, leading the game with 22 points.
Over the last five games, Will Barton has been on fire for the Nuggets. During that stretch, he has averaged 21.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.6 steals, and 3.0 three-pointers.
The high-octane Thunder offense (second in the NBA with an offensive efficiency of 108.5) will square off against the poor Nuggets defense (27th in the league with a defensive efficiency of 106.0), a matchup that should favor the Thunder.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Thunder won the first game 117-93. Durant scored a game-high 25 points.
The Thunder look to build on their records of 20-10 Straight Up (SU) and 13-17 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS against teams from their own division. The Thunder come into the game with the second-ranked scoring offense in the league, averaging 107.4 points per game. Whenever a Northwest Division opponent shows up on the calendar, the Thunder play better on defense. They allow an average of 99.2 points per game, but allow just 92.0 against teams from their own division. Teams have to fight for open shots against the Thunder, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the league at .427. An area where the Thunder are particularly strong is shot blocking, where they average 6.6 blocks per game, third in the NBA.
On the other side, the Nuggets head into the game with records of 13-15-2 ATS and 12-18 SU. Denver has records of 3-4 SU and ATS against the Northwest.
The Thunder’s win over Denver in their last game moved their SU record against Denver to 7-3 over the last 10 meetings. The Thunder also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-3-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – OKC
Notes
Oklahoma City is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Oklahoma City’s last 9 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Oklahoma City’s last 5 games at home.
Oklahoma City is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home.
Oklahoma City is 4-8 ATS in its last 12 games at home.
Oklahoma City is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Denver.
Oklahoma City is 5-0-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Denver.
Oklahoma City is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Denver.
The Oklahoma City Thunder currently hold a perfect 5-0 SU against the Northwest Division, and the Denver Nuggets sit at 3-4 in division games.
On average, Denver scores 98.7 points per game (ranked 22nd), while Oklahoma City gives up 99.2 points per game (ranked 10th).
Denver puts up an average of 97.8 points per away game (ranked 21st), while Oklahoma City allows 96.8 points per home game (ranked eighth).
When Denver allows fewer than 100 points, it has a poor 4-8 record this season. Oklahoma City also has an abysmal record when it scores fewer than 100 (2-6).
Denver is 8-10 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Thunder have a stellar 18-4 record when hitting triple digits.
The Nuggets have an offensive rating of 101.3 (ranked 23rd), while the Thunder rank seventh for their defensive rating of 99.4.
Oklahoma City has an average field goal percentage of 47.1% (ranked third). Denver is a subpar 3-9 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
On average, the Oklahoma City Thunder attempt 21.0 three point field goals per game and the Denver Nuggets attempt 24.0 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, Oklahoma City has a winning 5-2 record, while Denver is 7-8.
Oklahoma City has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.38 this season (ranked 24th). Denver ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.55 (ranked 15th).
Oklahoma City ranks near the top of the NBA for rebounds at second (48.2 per game), while Denver ranks 10th with 44.2 per game.
Denver ranks among the best in the league in offensive rebounding at fifth, while Oklahoma City is one of the top teams in defensive rebounding (ranked fourth).
On average, the Nuggets force a turnover rate of 14.3%. When the Thunder turn over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 13-6 record.
