NBA Betting Picks: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Denver Nuggets

Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets
Sunday, 1/20/13, 8:00 PM EST, TV: ALT2
Opening Point Spread: Oklahoma City -1.5
Current Betting Line: Oklahoma City -1
Opening Total: 210.5
Current Total: 209
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker

Oklahoma City Thunder F Kevin Durant scored a career-high 52 points last time out

Oklahoma City has won six games in a row, as it comes off an exciting 117-114 overtime victory over the Dallas Mavericks as 5.5-point road favorites Friday night, while going OVER the total for a second consecutive contest. The Thunder were led offensively by the play of forward Kevin Durant, who scored a career-high 52 points on 13 of 31 from the field. “It’s more about the win for me,” stated Durant following the affair. The team is 13-5 away from Chesapeake Energy Arena this year, including a 7-2 mark versus Western Conference foes. Oklahoma City is 13-4 ATS when playing against a team with a winning record, something to consider when looking over the pro basketball odds page.

The Thunder will be playing the second game of a season-long six game road swing, as they became the first team in the NBA to capture 30 wins. Oklahoma City has put together a remarkable 20-3 record versus conference foes this year, while it has gone 4-1-1 ATS in its six games against division rivals. Offensively, the squad paces the league in averaging 105.7 points per game, while shooting 47.7 percent from the floor.

Denver has dropped back-to-back games since winning six in a row, coming off a disappointing 112-108 setback to the Washington Wizards as 10.5-point home favorites, while going OVER the total for the sixth time in seven contests. The Nuggets are among the league leaders in rebounds, but were beaten on the glass by 11 boards last time out. The franchise is 15-3 at home this season, including a 10-1 mark versus conference foes. Denver is 3-2 ATS as a home underdog of three points or less since 2010, which can’t be ignored when making your NBA picks against the spread.

The Nuggets have claimed 15 of their last 24 games overall in this series, as they’ll try to gain revenge from a 117-97 blowout loss as nine-point road underdogs in the last meeting four days ago. Denver was held to 36.8 percent shooting in that affair, as it was never in the contest, trailing by 20 points going into halftime.