Denver plays Oklahoma City, aims for 7th straight victory

Fri, Dec 29, 2023
NBA News (AP)

Oklahoma City Thunder (20-9, third in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (23-10, second in the Western Conference)

Denver; Friday, 9 p.m. EST

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NBA LINE: Nuggets -3.5; over/under is 229.5

BOTTOM LINE: Denver will try to prolong its six-game win streak with a victory against Oklahoma City.

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The Nuggets are 15-8 against Western Conference opponents. Denver is ninth in the league with 44.9 rebounds led by Nikola Jokic averaging 12.4.

The Thunder are 4-2 against the rest of their division. Oklahoma City is ninth in the Western Conference with 25.9 assists per game led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaging 6.5.

The Nuggets make 49.2% of their shots from the field this season, which is 4.6 percentage points higher than the Thunder have allowed to their opponents (44.6%). The Thunder average 12.9 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.7 more made shots on average than the 11.2 per game the Nuggets give up.

The teams square off for the third time this season. In the last meeting on Dec. 17 the Thunder won 118-117 led by 25 points from Gilgeous-Alexander, while Jokic scored 24 points for the Nuggets.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jokic is scoring 26.3 points per game with 12.4 rebounds and 9.2 assists for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray is averaging 20.5 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 53.7% over the past 10 games for Denver.

Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.8 steals for the Thunder. Luguentz Dort is averaging 1.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Oklahoma City.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 9-1, averaging 121.3 points, 46.6 rebounds, 29.8 assists, 7.6 steals and 5.9 blocks per game while shooting 50.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.6 points per game.

Thunder: 7-3, averaging 124.2 points, 38.1 rebounds, 26.5 assists, 9.3 steals and 7.9 blocks per game while shooting 50.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.8 points.

INJURIES: Nuggets: Vlatko Cancar: out (knee), Aaron Gordon: out (face/hand).

Thunder: Jaylin Williams: day to day (hip).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.