NBA picks tonight: Thunder-Nuggets pick, prediction, odds, spread, injury report

New Year’s weekend in the NBA will tip off this evening and tonight’s slate will feature two of the top teams in the Western Conference slugging it out as the Oklahoma City Thunder pay a visit to the Denver Nuggets. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET.

Oklahoma City (20-9) has won five of its last six games and kept the hot streak going with a 129-120 victory over the Knicks on Wednesday. Both teams shot at least 50% from the field and the Thunder were led by 36-point efforts from both Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. Denver (23-10) has rattled off six straight victories and crushed the Ja Morant-less Grizzlies in a 142-105 rout last night. This was an onslaught from the second quarter onward as Nikola Jokic casually put up 26 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists, and two blocks.

As of this writing, the Nuggets have yet to release their injury report. Meanwhile for the Thunder, Jaylin Williams (hip) is listed as questionable.

Denver enters the game as a 2.5-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, accompanied by a total of 236.5. The Nuggets are listed as a -142 moneyline favorite, making the Thunder a +120 underdog.

Thunder vs. Nuggets, 9 p.m. ET

Pick ATS: Thunder +2.5

OKC was able to knock off Denver in a 118-117 nailbiter a few weeks back and this has the makings of another extremely competitive contest. The Thunder are 5-1-1 against the spread when having a rest advantage this season and I believe they can take advantage of the defending champs playing the back end of a back-to-back. Give me the visitors to cover as a road underdog.

Over/Under: Under 236.5

Denver has been limiting opponents to just 108.6 ppg over its last 10 outings and should be up for making things a bit more difficult for an OKC team that is cruising offensively. I’ll lean towards the under here as we could be in for a playoff-like struggle down the stretch.