Tag: Jamal Murray

LeBron James throws down furious slam over Torrey Craig at Denver

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James imposed his will in the third quarter of their game against the Denver Nuggets.

As LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers tried to end their incredible first half of the season on a high note, LeBron showed that even against some of the best defenders in the NBA, even in Year 17, that he can make fearsome defenders look minuscule.

LeBron and the Lakers were locked into a tightly contested match-up, as anticipated, with the No. 2-seeded Denver Nuggets in their final game before the All-Star break. LeBron and Anthony Davis have both played like stars, scoring 15 points apiece, but James did something even bigger with a drive during the 3rd quarter of Wednesday’s game. When he was guarded by one of Denver’s more feared defenders, Torrey Craig, he made the 6-7, 221 lbs., forward look small.

LeBron James and the Lakers currently have a three-game lead over the Nuggets for the best record in the Western Conference. Coming into tonight, both teams had won on the other’s homecourt, though the Nuggets win at L.A. came without LeBron James.

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Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Saturday’s Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns sports betting odds, with NBA matchup analysis and picks.

The Denver Nuggets (36-16) are going to the Valley of the Sun to play the Phoenix Suns (21-31) at the Talking Stick Resort Arena Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. ET. We analyze Nuggets-Suns odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Nuggets at Suns: Key injuries

Nuggets

  • PF Jerami Grant (ankle) probable
  • SG Will Barton (knee) out
  • PF Paul Millsap (knee) probable
  • SF Michael Porter Jr. (ankle) out
  • C Bol Bol (foot) out
  • PF Mason Plumlee (foot) out

Suns

  • SF Dario Saric (ankle) questionable
  • SG Tyler Johnson (knee) questionable
  • PF Frank Kaminsky (knee) out
  • C Aaron Baynes (hip) out

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Nuggets at Suns: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 1:40 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Suns 117, Nuggets 109

Moneyline (ML)

Phoenix snapped a four-game losing streak by destroying the Houston Rockets last night, 127-91, while the Nuggets have been playing well recently winning four of their last five games.

The absence of Barton could be major for the Nuggets. Barton is third on the team in points per game and is second in Win Shares. Since the Suns +135 actually have a better winning percentage on the road (11-14) compared to home (10-17), and the Nuggets -162 is too chalky of a number, PASS on moneyline wager in Nuggets-Suns.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

Phoenix is 3-5 against the spread record on back-to-backs, but both sides play comparably in their given rest situations: The Suns are 7-6 ATS with a rest disadvantage and the Nuggets are 7-6-3 ATS. Also, the spread situation favors the Suns—Phoenix has a 4-3 ATS record when getting 3-4.5 points and Denver is 1-5-1 ATS when laying those range of points. But, the Suns have covered their last three home games versus Denver.

When you factor in the Suns’ 5-4 ATS record as a home ‘dog and the Nuggets’ 6-8-1 ATS record as a road favorite then I like SUNS +3.5 (-110) in this game. 

Over/Under (O/U)

The officiating crew assigned to Nuggets-Suns leans me to BETTING OVER 218.5 (-106). Their combined Over/Under record on the season is 45-32 with an average total score of 223.9. Furthermore, Phoenix has a 6-2 O/U record on the second game of back-to-backs, the Over is 5-1 in the last six meetings in Phoenix and the Over is 6-0 in Nuggets last six games as a road favorite.

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @Geoffery_Clark and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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LeBron James watches Lakers drop third straight game vs. Nuggets

Anthony Davis tried to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a win but L.A. was unable to slow down the depth of the Lakers.

Without LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers lost a season-worst third-straight game on Sunday night against the Denver Nuggets, 128-104. Not even the return of Kyle Kuzma and a solid game from Anthony Davis were enough for L.A. to secure a home win to snap a season-worst losing streak.

Davis had 32 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lakers but aside from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Avery Bradley, nobody else on the Laker hit two 3-pointers or more. Kuzma had a strong showing in his first game back from an ankle injury with 16 points, four rebounds and two blocks. But the Lakers’ defense was non-existent on Sunday.

Davis held up his end of the bargain offensively as the Lakers leading scorer early on with 19 points in the first half. The Lakers had to adjust their offensive supply chain without James in the lineup and they struggled mightily without him. They failed to crack 35% from the 3-point line and they had just 18 assists compared to 31 for Denver.

Without LeBron, Kuzma had nine first-half points but the Lakers still found themselves down 55-53 at halftime. The Lakers outrebounded Denver 30-23 in the first half but they couldn’t maintain a lead for much of the night and Denver managed to close the game to 45-44 by the end of the game.

Also, treading water without LeBron James sounds about as easy as being deep water snorkeling with aqua sox. Hopefully for the Lakers, their excursion without James in the middle of the season won’t last for a long time.

Davis is also feeling banged up in addition to James. The best thing for the Lakers and James to hear is that they have two full days before welcoming Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers on Christmas Day.

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Portland Trail Blazers at Denver Nuggets odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Thursday’s Portland Trail Blazers at Denver Nuggets sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.

The Portland Trail Blazers (10-15) and Denver Nuggets (14-8) will do battle at Pepsi Center at 10:30 p.m. ET. We analyze the Trail Blazers-Nuggets odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM.

Trail Blazers at Nuggets: Key injuries

Trail Blazers: SG/SF Rodney Hood (Achilles) suffered a ruptured Achilles’ tendon during a game on Friday and he is done for the season, a tough blow for a team already shorthanded in the frontcourt with PF Zach Collins (shoulder) out until March and C Jusuf Nurkic (leg) still months away from a return.

Nuggets: SG/SF Jamal Murray (trunk contusion) is expected to be able to play, while PF Paul Millsap (foot) isn’t as much of a certainty.

Trail Blazers at Nuggets: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 11 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Nuggets 118, Trail Blazers 107

Moneyline (ML)

The Nuggets (-250) come with a steep price on the moneyline, and they’re not worth the risk with only a $4 return on a $10 bet to win outright.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The NUGGETS (-6.5, -105) are nearly even money if you’re willing to lay the points, and you should. The last time these teams met in Portland Oct. 23, it was Denver coming away with a 108-100 win.

Fast forward to Thursday … the Blazers are just 3-7 ATS in their past 10 road games and 1-4 ATS in the past five as underdogs. While the Nuggets are 1-4-1 ATS in their past six overall, they’re 4-1 ATS in the past five against losing sides. The boys from Rip City are just 4-10-1 ATS in the past 15 meetings with the Nuggs, too.

Over/Under (O/U)

OVER 213.5 (-115) has cashed in nine of the past 12 meetings, but go lightly until it is determined whether or not the Blue Arrow (a.k.a. Murray) is able to play.

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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LeBron James leads offense, Davis leads on defense to win at Nuggets

LeBron James and Anthony Davis made big plays down the stretch to hold off a Nuggets come back to get the Los Angeles Lakers another win.

The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t shoot all that well and they looked like they were in trouble at times, but their superstars made huge plays late to show once again that they are the class of the Western Conference through the first quarter of the season.

Anthony Davis had 25 points and 10 rebounds while LeBron James had 24 points and nine assists, but the two stars made the key plays late after the Nuggets pushed them down the stretch.

James came through with a huge putback dunk on a miss by Davis to put the Lakers up 112-106 with just over a minute left in Tuesday’s win. The Lakers also made several key stops in the final few possessions, with Davis–who entered the game with flu-like symptoms–stoning the Nuggets three times at the rim in the final few minutes and also doing an excellent job on star center Nikola Jokic (13 points, 4-12, five turnovers, eight assists).

The Lakers started out hot and ended the first half with the same conviction, as the starters for the Lakers pushed them to a 60-49 lead at halftime of their showdown against the Nuggets. After hearing questions about their schedule in the first 20 games, the Lakers responded with one of their best halves of basketball on both ends so far this season.

But the Nuggets, being a very tough team in their own right, fought back to turn this early December showdown of the two best teams in the West into a regular season classic.

But the Lakers don’t have much time to rest as they will get on a plane shortly after the game as they head to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz for the second night of a back-to-back.

 

LeBron James and Lakers roll into Denver to face No. 2 Nuggets

The Los Angeles Lakers aren’t looking past anyone as they head into a 3-game road trip that begins Tuesday.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis stated the goal of their team this season following Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks that they’d not lose two games in-a-row this season. But more than the Lakers stated goal, Tuesday night will be characterized by a showdown between the two best teams in the Western Conference.

At 17-3, the Los Angeles Lakers visit the 13-4 Denver Nuggets who surprisingly have the league’s best defense. Much of the storylines about the Nuggets have been about what they can’t do, but through the first part of the season, they have shown they can absolutely disrupt things defensively, even against the most fluid of offenses.

Jokic also presents a fantastic cognitive challenge for the centers on the Lakers. While Davis is reticent to embrace the role of center, Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee can step in to provide a lot more physical resistance to Jokic. They’ve been great this season, especially Howard. Howard’s activity and athleticism may prove to be the biggest challenge for Jokic, but the Lakers center position must give him activity from the jump.

The Lakers definitely have a lot of different bigs to deal with Jokic but their guard and wing depth will once again be challenged Tuesday. Alex Caruso has played well but his skill may be spread thin against a deep Nuggets squad. Danny Green, Troy Daniels, Rajon Rondo, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope can help him attempt to stabilize the backcourt, but this game just like any in the future, won’t be decided on paper.

Report: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander commits to Canada for 2020 Olympics

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would bring quality guard play to Team Canada in next summer’s Olympics.

Canada has produced some of the NBA’s best international talent, along with countries in Europe as well as Australia.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the best Canadian-born players in the NBA. With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics a year away, Gilgeous-Alexander announced Tuesday on Twitter his commitment to Canada.

Along with Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray also said Tuesday on Twitter he was committed to playing for Canada.

Per Josh Lewenberg of The Sports Network, New York Knicks rookie R.J. Barrett announced his commitment Wednesday.

A second-year player out of Kentucky, Gilgeous-Alexander would bring quality guard play to Canada. With himself, Murray and Barrett, Canada would boast some of the best guard depth in the Olympics. New Orleans Pelicans rookie guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker also announced his commitment Tuesday.

Canada, along with countries such as Australia and Serbia, has the potential to present Team USA with some problems. The world is filled with great basketball players, and the talent pool for next year’s Olympics will perhaps be the deepest and best it has ever been.

Gilgeous-Alexander is having a good start to his sophomore season. He leads the Thunder in scoring, and he’s averaging career-highs in points (19.3), rebounds (5.3) and 3-point percentage (40.3%).

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