The 2024/25 NBA season has hit the halfway point and Wednesday’s card features a couple of compelling matchups, including the Denver Nuggets facing off against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN.
The Nuggets are getting yet another outstanding season out of Nikola Jokic and the rest of the supporting cast has slowly raised their levels of play as the season has progressed.
As for the hosts, New York has established itself as one of the best offenses in the NBA, and the Knicks will surely be looking to make a statement against the 2022/23 NBA champions on a national stage.
As we dive into this intriguing matchup at the Garden, it’s time to get into our expert’s Denver Nuggets vs. New York Knicks betting picks and predictions for Wednesday’s contest.
These two teams are trending in different directions entering this game. For the visitors, there’s no doubt that the pressure is on to respond after suffering back-to-back losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls on this road trip.
Defensively, the Nuggets have left a lot to be desired of late, with Denver allowing 129, 133 and 123 points over its last three games.
That doesn’t bode well against a Knicks team which has one of the best offenses in the league, ranking only behind the Cavaliers in offensive rating this season.
New York has won four consecutive games and now sits just one game shy of the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks are on a roll offensively, averaging 124.4 points per 100 possessions during this winning streak, and their net rating is also the highest in the NBA at +17.0 points per 100 possessions in the four wins.
At the moment, it’s hard to find a flaw in the way Tom Thibodeau’s group is playing during this very important homestand against Western Conference playoff teams.
The only issue might arise on the glass, as Josh Hart is listed as questionable on the injury report and will likely be a game-time decision. Hart is dealing with a knee injury, which limited him to just 27 minutes (he averages over 37 per game) in the Knicks victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
Even if Hart is unable to play, this is still a spot to trust the Knicks to get the job done at home. After all, New York dominated the first meeting this season, scoring 145 points on the Nuggets' subpar defense.
In general, this hasn’t been a favorable matchup for Jokic and the Nuggets, as Denver is just 1-4 straight up and against the spread over the past five meetings with the Knicks.
All things considered, let’s lay the short number with the Knicks -3.0 on Wednesday.
While a low-scoring game script would traditionally go hand-in-hand with a Knicks cover in years’ past, our expert believes that New York will stick to its high-scoring ways against a team that it has dominated in recent seasons.
Points have been easy to come by in games involving both teams of late. In fact, these teams have combined to go above this game's total in 12 of their last 16 contests. New York is also 5-2 to the Over in its last seven home games while dropping 143 points in back-to-back games to start this homestand.
After seeing very little defensive resistance by the Nuggets over their last three games, we can feel confident in backing the Over at MSG. After all, games involving Denver have gone above the total in 29 of its 46 games this season.
There is a real possibility for the Knicks to cover the spread in this game while still going Over the total of 242.5, and that is the only way our expert can look in this matchup.
Read more betting picks and predictions for the NBA on site.
Denver Nuggets | +120 ML |
New York Knicks | -140 ML |
Spread | NY Knicks -3.0 |
Total Points | O/U 242.5 |
Nikola Jokic (DEN Nuggets) | O/U 27.5 |
Jalen Brunson (NY Knicks) | O/U 26.5 |
Karl-Anthony Towns (NY Knicks) | O/U 24.5 |
Jamal Murray (DEN Nuggets) | O/U 19.5 |
Michael Porter Jr. (DEN Nuggets) | O/U 16.5 |
Russell Westbrook (DEN Nuggets) | O/U 13.5 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.