San Antonio Spurs vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 1/3/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: San Antonio Spurs vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Friday, January 3, 2025

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: Altitude

The Denver Nuggets (17-13) are hosting the San Antonio Spurs (16-16) at Ball Arena on Friday.

The Spurs stepped onto the hardwood against the Timberwolves and took a loss by a final of 112-110 in their last game. In reference to fouls, the Spurs walked away with 18 while the Timberwolves totaled 23 fouls. They also buried 11 out of their 44 attempts from downtown. Minnesota finished 78.9% from the free throw line by making 15 of 19 tries. Furthermore, Minnesota grabbed 56 rebounds (18 offensive, 38 defensive) and added 4 blocks. Minnesota distributed 23 assists and had 4 steals for this contest. When talking about defending, San Antonio allowed the other team to shoot 43.0% from the floor on 43 out of 100 shooting. They also distributed 25 assists in the game as well as creating 10 turnovers and earning 6 steals. Regarding getting rebounds, they compiled 41 with 8 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Spurs converted 23 of 28 shots for a rate of 82.1%. San Antonio ended with a 43.7% field goal percentage (38 of 87) and converted 11 of their 39 shots from distance.

Victor Wembanyama is a guy who was a major contributor in this matchup. Wembanyama finished 43.3% from the field and distributed 2 assists. He was on the hardwood for 37 mins and pulled down 8 rebounds. He scored 34 points on 13 out of 30 shooting.

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San Antonio will take the court with a win-loss record of 16-16 for the year. They turn it over 14.9 times per game and as a unit are committing 16.3 personal fouls per game. As a unit, San Antonio is pulling down 44.6 rebounds per game and has racked up 909 dimes so far this year, which is 7th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. The Spurs are shooting 34.8% from downtown (439 of 1,263) and 79.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 111.1 points per outing (19th in basketball) while hitting 45.6% from the floor.

On defense, the Spurs are forcing their opponents into 13.7 turnovers per game while drawing 19.2 fouls. They rank 12th in the NBA in giving up assists with 813 surrendered for the year. The Spurs defense is giving up a FG percentage of 45.8% (1,345 of 2,937) and they concede 45.0 rebounds per game as a squad. They are giving up 35.1% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 14th in basketball in points per game allowed (112.0).

When they last played, the Nuggets walked away with a victory by a final of 134-121 when they played the Pistons. The Nuggets were able to collect 32 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards for a total of 40 for the contest. They coughed it up 14 times, while earning 9 steals in this matchup. The Pistons were called for 25 fouls for the matchup which got the Nuggets to the charity stripe for a total of 36 tries. They were able to bury 29 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 80.6%. Regarding shots from downtown, Denver knocked down 13 of 27 attempts (48.1%). Overall, the Nuggets went 46 for 82 from the field which had them at 56.1%. The Nuggets allowed the Pistons to make 46 out of their 95 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 48.4% for the game. They went 30.8% from behind the 3-point line by hitting 12 of 39 and finished the game at 17 of 23 from the charity stripe (73.9%). With respect to rebounding, Denver permitted Detroit to grab 41 overall (15 on the offensive side).

Nikola Jokic was important for the Nuggets in the game. Jokic earned 37 points in his 37 mins on the court and had 8 dimes in the game. He converted 11 of 17 in the game for a rate of 64.7%, and had 9 rebounds.

Denver has a mark of 17-13 on the season. On the offensive side of the ball, the Nuggets are shooting 50.0% from the field, which ranks 2nd in the NBA. Denver has scored 3,603 pts so far this year (120.1 per contest) and they average 44.8 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 31.1 times per contest (1st in the league) and they cough up possession 14.8 times per game. The Nuggets commit 18.3 fouls every game and they shoot 75.4% from the charity stripe.

The Nuggets are ranked 24th in basketball in points allowed per contest with 117.4. They are forcing their opponents into 14.4 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.9% from the floor (17th in the league). The Denver defense allows 35.9% from downtown (421 of 1,173) and their opponents are making 76.5% of their free throw attempts. They give up 29.9 dimes and 43.3 boards per game, ranking them 30th and 8th in the NBA.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take San Antonio

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