The Denver Nuggets (41-18, 14-14 Away) are on the road to face the Cleveland Cavaliers (38-23, 25-6 Home) Thursday in a matchup that pits potent offense against superb defense. Denver topped the Dallas Mavericks 118-109 at Ball Arena on February 15, their third win in a row. Jeff Green led the way with 24 points.
The Nuggets are the first seed in the Western Conference, five games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies. Cleveland lost on February 15 at Wells Fargo Center, falling to the Philadelphia 76ers 118-112. Donovan Mitchell had 33 points in the loss, carrying the team. The Cavaliers are fourth in the Eastern Conference.
The teams are meeting for the last time this season. Denver will be aiming for a season sweep against Cleveland after getting the win in the only earlier matchup 121-108 at Ball Arena on January 6. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with a triple double, posting 28 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists. Caris LeVert had 22 points in defeat.
The Nuggets have been led this season by Jokic, who is averaging 24.7 points per game. Jokic also is contributing 11.5 rebounds and 10.1 assists per game, placing him sixth and second in the league, respectively. Mitchell has supplied much of the Cavs’ offense, averaging 27.3 points per game. He has the ninth-best scoring average in the NBA.
Darius Garland is tallying 8.0 assists per game, sixth-most in the league, and Jarrett Allen is pulling down 9.9 rebounds per game. The Nuggets rank as the best in the league in offensive efficiency, while the Cavaliers are the top team for defensive efficiency.
The teams have split their last 10 games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (5-5). Cleveland is pursuing a fifth consecutive win at home this season.In the last 10 games, Denver is 7-3 with an average margin of +5.9 (120.0-114.1).
Cleveland has an 8-2 record over the last 10, scoring 114.0 points per game on average while holding opponents to 101.4 (+12.6 margin).
NUGGETS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Aaron Gordon: 44.0 | 27.0 | +17.0
Thomas Bryant: 8.3 | 18.8 | -10.5
Points per game:
Aaron Gordon: 30.5 | 17.3 | +13.2
Thomas Bryant: 6.0 | 11.7 | -5.7
Rebounds per game:
Thomas Bryant: 2.3 | 6.5 | -4.2
CAVALIERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points per game:
Evan Mobley: 19.8 | 15.7 | +4.1
Caris LeVert: 7.6 | 12.0 | -4.4
Rebounds per game:
Donovan Mitchell: 6.0 | 4.1 | +1.9
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Cleveland Cavs (-135)
Want up to a $1K risk free bet for this pick?
Claim with 
today!
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our NBA hub page for all your basketball needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
