The Denver Nuggets (47-32) host the San Antonio Spurs (33-45) Tuesday at Ball Arena for a 9 p.m. ET tip-off. Below, we look at the Spurs vs. Nuggets odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
San Antonio is 6-1 straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS) in its last seven games including back-to-back blowout victories at home over the Portland Trail Blazers Friday (130-111) and Sunday (113-92).
Denver is 5-2 SU but just 3-4 ATS in its last seven games. The Nuggets went into L.A. Sunday and clobbered the Lakers 129-118 in their last game.
The Nuggets are 2-1 SU and 1-2 ATS versus the Spurs this season and the total is 2-1 Over/Under (O/U).
Spurs at Nuggets 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 12:42 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Spurs +300 (bet $100 to win $300) | Nuggets -400 (bet $400 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Spurs +8.5 (-105) | Nuggets -8.5 (-120)
- Over/Under: 233.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)
Spurs at Nuggets key injuries
Spurs
- C Jock Landale (foot) out
- SF Doug McDermott (nose) out
- PG Dejounte Murray (illness) out
Nuggets
- PG Jamal Murray (knee) out
- PF Michael Porter Jr. (back) out
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Spurs at Nuggets odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Nuggets 121, Spurs 108
Money line
PASS even though Denver should cruise past a Murray-less Spurs but the -400 tag is way too expensive.
Murray is San Antonio’s leading scorer and assist man and third in adjusted on/off net rating, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG).
Denver is sixth in offensive rating and San Antonio struggles against strong offenses. The Spurs are 6-20 SU versus teams in the top-10 of offensive efficiency with a minus-6.3 adjusted net rating (ranked 21st), per CTG.
The only sensible way to try and profit off this game is to lay the points with Denver or bet the total.
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Against the spread
LEAN NUGGETS -8.5 (-120) because all of Denver’s perceived edges are well accounted for in this price and we are getting the worst of the number.
The Nuggets opened as 6-point favorites but that number increased once the Spurs announced they’d be without Murray. Also, several situational trends point to this being a bad spot for Denver so this feels like a sharp line.
However, the Nuggets need this game since they are only 2 games in front of the seventh-place T-Wolves for the first play-in seed in the Western Conference.
Over/Under
LEAN UNDER 233.5 (-108) because San Antonio’s offense should struggle without Murray in the lineup and the Spurs are 10-18-1 O/U as road underdogs with a minus-2.7 total margin.
Both offenses also rank 20th or worse in free-throw attempt rate and both defenses rank 11th or better in defensive FT/FGA rate.
That said, my hesitancy here is most of the market is on the UNDER 233.5 (-108) and we are also getting the worst of this number since the total opened at 237.
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