Thunder at Nuggets: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets (+1, 209.5)
After receiving another reminder as to how special Kevin Durant is, the Oklahoma City Thunder will continue a season-long six-game road trip Sunday night in Denver. Durant started the trip in historic fashion, scoring a career-high 52 points in an overtime win at Dallas on Friday. That gave Oklahoma City six straight victories, including four in a row away from home. Durant recorded the first 50-point game in the NBA this season and hit the decisive basket with 16.9 seconds left.
It was not Durant but rather Russell Westbrook (32 points) who did the bulk of the work in ending the Nuggets' six-game winning streak Wednesday night in Oklahoma City. Denver was unable to recover from the 20-point loss as it returned home to fall to lowly Washington on Friday, 112-108. That made it three straight games that opponents have scored at least 110 points against the Nuggets, who are one of seven NBA teams who allow 100 points or more per game.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (32-8, 24-14-2 ATS): Durant's 52-point performance was largely done from the line. He hit all 21 of his attempts from the charity stripe, helping to offset a somewhat lackluster 13-for-31 (41.9 percent) effort from the floor. Westbrook added 31 points as the star tandem continued to shine for head coach Scott Brook's Western Conference-leading squad, which is now 20-4 when both Durant and Westbrook reach the 20-point mark. The Thunder visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday in a matchup of the top two teams in the conference.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (24-18, 23-19-0 ATS): One reason for Oklahoma City's rout of Denver on Wednesday was the Thunder's ability to limit standout guard Ty Lawson. However, Lawson broke out two nights later with a blistering second half, albeit in a losing effort against Washington. He scored 27 of his 29 points after the break but had a layup blocked in the waning moments, denying Denver of the tying points. Lawson had two points and four turnovers in 20 minutes against Oklahoma City two nights earlier.
TRENDS:
* Under is 4-0-1 in the last five meetings in Denver.
* Thunder are 3-0-1 ATS in the last four meetings in Denver.
* Under is 8-3-1 in the last 12 meetings.
* Road team is 5-1-1 ATS in the last seven meetings.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Thunder F Serge Ibaka had his eighth double-double (11 points, 14 rebounds) in the win over Dallas.
2. Oklahoma City G Thabo Sefolosha was 0-for-4 from the field in 25 minutes against the Mavericks, going scoreless for just the second time this season. However, he posted a team-high plus-11 rating.
3. Even with the loss to Washington, Denver has the third-best home record in the Western Conference at 15-3.
NBA: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Los Angeles Lakers at Toronto Raptors
The Los Angeles Lakers (17-22, 16-22-1 ATS) off a 2-2 SU/ATS home stand hit the road for three games starting with a run against Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre. Nothing to indicate Los Angeles could lose this game as they catch a Raptor team mired in a 0-4 slump and Lakers have beaten Purple Dinos in 17-of-20 meetings including 8-of-11 playing north of the border. However, Lakers just might be concentrating more on upcoming games against Chicago (23-15), Memphis (23-15) rather than lowly Raptors (14-26) allowing Toronto to sneak up and possibly steal one. Well, maybe not win outright but keep it within cover range. Keep in mind Lakers haven't exactly been road warriors posting a 5-12 record cashing just six tickets (6-10-1 ATS) and the boys from LA LA Land are an awful 1-8 ATS off a loss as a favorite this season including 0-7 ATS on the road.