Not even playing in back-to-back nights could derail the Sacramento Kings, who beat the Denver Nuggets on Monday to record their third-consecutive victory. Tonight the two teams square off again, this time in Sacramento’s home court with the Nuggets desperate for some revenge against the red-hot Kings.
Read on for a preview of this matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the game between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers here.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Denver Nuggets vs. Sacramento Kings Betting Preview
Where: Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento
When: Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 10:00 PM ET
Line: Denver Nuggets (+2.5) at Sacramento Kings (-2.5); total: 202.5 – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets will be looking for some payback when they travel to Sacramento later tonight to face the Kings in a rematch of their encounter just two nights ago. The Nuggets had no answer for Darren Collison who led all scorers with 21 points, including three free throws in the final 16.2 seconds to seal the win for the Kings.
[sc:NBA240banner ]The onus then is on Nuggets starter Ty Lawson to put the clamps on Collison this time around. Lawson was totally outplayed on his 27th birthday, finishing with just nine points on 1 of 8 shooting from the field.
One positive, though, from their defeat last time out is the ever-improving play of Wilson Chandler. With Danilo Gallinari still playing limited minutes because of his recent knee injury, Chandler has been starting for the Nuggets in the small forward position.
He repaid Brian Shaw’s faith in him, finishing with 14 points and four rebounds in the game against the Kings. He also played a key role in limiting Sacramento star Rudy Gay to just 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Prior to that game, Gay was averaging 26.3 points per outing.
Defense will be the key for the Nuggets if they are to avoid a three-game losing skid. In their last two defeats, their opponents have averaged a total of 106 points per game. They will need to do a better job of containing DeMarcus Cousins who ran roughshod over the Denver frontline sending Timofey Mozgov, JaVale McGee and Jusuf Nurkic all into foul trouble.
The Nuggets committed 35 fouls as they conceded a 47-33 free throw advantage to the Kings. That gave the Kings a 40-28 advantage in free throws made which was basically the difference in the match. The Nuggets can’t afford to give that many bonus points again when they meet Sacramento later tonight.
The Nuggets are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 road games.
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Betting on the Sacramento Kings
Don’t look now but the Sacramento Kings are starting to make some noise in the talent-laden Western Conference. The Kings rolled to their third-consecutive victory after beating the Denver Nuggets 110-105 on Monday to start the season 3-1 for the first time since 2010.
It has been quite a turnaround for the Kings who finished last campaign with an awful 28-54 mark. Four games into the new season, the Kings have already managed to send shockwaves across the league, stunning the Portland Trail Blazers on Halloween before knocking off the Clippers and the Nuggets in back-to-back nights.
One of the keys to the Kings’ revival this season has been their rebounding. They are averaging 48.8 boards per contest this season, second-best in the entire NBA. In their last game against the Nuggets, they hauled down an impressive 50 rebounds. That helped the Kings tremendously in setting the pace as they were able to dictate the tempo in the game.
As a result, they managed to put up 110 points in the ballgame, their highest offensive output this season. Also contributing to their success this season is their improved free throw shooting. They are third in the NBA this season in that category with an 82.7% clip.
The Kings are formidable on the defensive end as well, allowing just 96.5 points per ballgame. That’s good for ninth in the NBA thus far this season.
The Kings are 4-6 ATS in their last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Kings (-2.5) beat the Nuggets again to record their fourth-straight win.
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