San Antonio (53-14)
-2 with an over under of 192
at Denver (38-30), 10:30 p.m. Eastern, ESPN
by Ultimatecapper.com Staff
The San Antonio Spurs continue their quest for the best record in the Western Conference as they visit the Northwest Division-leading Denver Nuggets Wednesday night.
San Antonio leads the Southwest Division and the Western Conference by a half-game over Dallas.
Denver leads the Northwest Division by 5½ games over Utah and is third in the Western Conference race.
The Spurs have won five games in a row after dispatching of Golden State Tuesday 107-96 as 11-point home favorites.
Denver has won three of its last four games and seven of its last nine after beating New Orleans 109-94 Saturday as five-point road dogs.
San Antonio has won 11 of the last 16 games in the series with Denver, and two of three games this season. The Nuggets, however, upset the Spurs 89-85 as seven-point road underdogs in the most recent encounter between the two teams in January. San Antonio hit just 30 of 72 from the floor and four of 23 from 3-point range in the game.
The Spurs also beat the Nuggets four games to one in a Western Conference playoff series last spring.
San Antonio is 34-32 against the spread this season, 23-10 straight up and 16-17 ats on the road.
Denver is 35-33 vs. the number this season, 21-12 straight up and 17-16 ats at home.
The Spurs are shooting 37% from the floor on the season but just 70% from the free-throw line, third-worst in the league. San Antonio also holds opponents to 43% shooting from the field (third-best in the NBA) and they own a league-leading +7.3 points per game differential.
Denver is shooting a league-low 32% from beyond the arc this season, 75% from the line. The Nuggets own a +1 point differential.
Denver is without sixth man Earl Boykins (13 points, four assists per game), who broke his hand last week. He'll be out at least a month. Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin are also listed on injury reports, but both are expected to play Wednesday.
San Antonio's Manu Ginobili has been hobbled with a calf injury, but he's also expected to play.
The over is 35-33 in Denver games this season, but 28-37 in Spurs games. Also, eight of the last 10 games in the series between the two teams have stayed under the total.
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The Ultimatecapper Pick: There's an old rule of thumb when it comes to sports betting. "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is." We're siding with Denver here and avoiding falling into the trap line on this nationally televised game (ESPN)