The Denver Nuggets (33-25) stop by Golden 1 Center Thursday to play the Sacramento Kings (22-38) at 10 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Nuggets vs. Kings odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Denver won five of its last six games (5-1 against the spread (ATS)), including three straight entering the All-Star break. Two of those victories were 1-point road wins versus the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors with the third win coming at home 121-111 over the Orlando Magic as an 11.5-point favorite.
Sacramento lost back-to-back road games to the Brooklyn Nets (109-85 Feb. 14) and the Chicago Bulls (125-118 Feb. 16) prior to the All-Star game. The Kings are 2 games behind the Portland Trail Blazers for the 10th seed and final play-in spot in the West.
The Nuggets beat the Kings 121-111 as 7.5-point road favorites in their first meeting this season (Jan. 7) and the Over cashed for the fifth consecutive Denver-Sacramento meeting.
Also see: Bet Slippin’ Podcast: NBA February 24 breakdown
Nuggets at Kings odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 3:28 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Nuggets -170 (bet $170 to win $100) | Kings +135 (bet $100 to win $135)
- Against the spread (ATS): Nuggets -3.5 (-115) | Kings +3.5 (-107)
- Over/Under (O/U): 234.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Nuggets at Kings key injuries
Nuggets
- PG Jamal Murray (knee) out
Kings
- None
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Nuggets at Kings odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Nuggets 115, Kings 112
Money line
PASS.
I don’t have enough confidence in Sactown’s spread to sprinkle on the Kings (+135) even though the Nuggets (-170) are way overpriced.
However, Denver’s lack of a backcourt due to Murray’s injury really helps Sacramento PG De’Aaron Fox who is a below-average starting point guard at this point.
Fox scored 30 points with 10 free-throw attempts and 7 assists to 2 turnovers in the first Nuggets-Kings meeting this year.
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Against the spread
“LEAN” to the KINGS +3.5 (-107) for a three-fourths unit because Sactown is 18-22 ATS as an underdog. However, the Nuggets tend to play down to their competition on the road.
Denver is 4-7 ATS on the road versus teams with a losing record and has a minus-4.0 ATS margin (ranked 28th) in eight games versus teams in the bottom-10 of adjusted net rating, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG).
The Nuggets also lost all three meetings with the Kings last season and Denver is just 1-5 ATS versus Sactown in their last six meetings.
Over/Under
Slight “LEAN” towards the UNDER 234.5 (-110) for a quarter-unit because this is a Pros vs. Joe’s game in the betting market.
Nearly two-thirds of the bets placed are on the Over but a slight majority of the cash is on the Under according to pregame.com. Typically, in sports betting, it’s profitable to follow the money especially when it’s counter to the public.
Taking the UNDER 234.5 (-110) fades recent trends such as Sactown’s 6-1 O/U record in the last seven games and the Over cashing in five consecutive Nuggets-Kings meetings.
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