The Indiana Pacers may have already locked up a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but their attention now turns to trying to secure home court advantage in the first round. The Pacers will aim to collect their fourth straight win at home when they welcome the Denver Nuggets to town on Sunday. Sportsbooks opened the Pacers as 1.5-point home underdogs with a total of 209.5.
Standout Stats
- With the way Indiana has been playing on the road lately, home court advantage could be massive for them. The Pacers are coming off an eight-game road losing streak which began with a 102-100 setback to Denver in Colorado.
- Denver has won six straight contests and remains in a tight battle with Golden State for the top spot in the Western Conference. The Nuggets took out Boston, Washington and New York on the first three stops of their four-game road trip.
- The Pacers fell in single digits in the first three games of the road trip but shot 38.5 percent from the floor, including 6 for 23 from beyond the arc, and committed 16 turnovers against the Warriors in a 112-89 loss on Thursday. Thaddeus Young (18 points on 7 of 13 shooting) was the only starter to score in double figures in the losing effort.
- Indiana has been one of the top UNDER bets in the Association of late. In the Pacers’ past nine games, the UNDER is 8-1. Indy has gone UNDER in four of its previous five meetings with Western Conference squads.
- When the Nuggets travel to Bankers Life Fieldhouse, they tend to come away covering the spread. In Denver’s past 14 trips to Indiana, it’s 10-4 ATS. The underdog is 15-5-1 ATS in the previous 21 matchups between the clubs.
My best bet for Nuggets-Pacers
UNDER 209.5 points
The Pacers’ simply haven’t been scoring like they usually do lately, and it’s led to a plethora of UNDERs as a result. Indiana will face a stiff test against the strong Denver defense and will likely have a tough time getting their offense back on track. If the Nuggets don’t go on a scoring spree in the first half, this game should stay UNDER the total.
