First quarter report
The Nuggets are on the road, but the wear doesn't seem too bad. He currently leads the Clippers with a 31-20 record, so they have a little bit of leeway.
The Nuggets entered the game with extra motivation after losing the last time these teams met. Let's see if they can flip the script or if it will be the same.
Who's playing
Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Clippers
Current record: Denver 53 wins, 23 losses, Los Angeles 47 wins, 28 losses.
How to watch
- when: Thursday, April 4, 2024 at 10:00 PM ET
- where: Crypto.com Arena — Los Angeles, California
- tv set: TNT
- to follow: CBS Sports App
- Ticket price: $32.00
What you need to know
The Nuggets enjoyed a five-game homestand, but they'll have to dust off their road jerseys soon. They will face the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday at 10pm ET at Crypto.com Arena. The Clippers lost in their last matchup, and will be looking to turn things around against the Nuggets, who won.
Last Tuesday, the Nuggets defeated the Spurs 110-105 in an underwhelming performance.
Much of the Nuggets' success can be attributed to Nikola Jokic, who had a double-double with 42 points and 16 rebounds, and Aaron Gordon, who had 23 points and seven rebounds. This matchup marked Jokic's third straight year scoring 30 or more points.
Meanwhile, the Clippers' winning streak unfortunately came to an end at three on Tuesday. They suffered a blowout 109-95 loss from the Kings. Los Angeles was down 91-70 at the end of the third quarter, and it was too much to come back from.
Denver has been on a roll lately. He recently won 17 of 21 games, a nice jump to his 53-23 record this season. For Los Angeles, the loss ended their away win streak at five, dropping them to 47 wins and 28 losses.
This is a contest where possession will likely be a big factor. The Nuggets haven't given up the ball easily this season, averaging just 11.8 turnovers per game (ranking fifth overall in turnovers per game). However, the Clippers are only averaging 12.2 shots, so it's not like they're struggling in that department. Given these competing strengths, it will be interesting to see how their conflict plays out.
Looking ahead, experts predict that the Nuggets will win by 3.5 points, making them the favorites to win this game. They will be favorites for the 14th straight time in this contest (so far they are 6-7 against the spread in this span).
odds
According to the latest NBA odds, Denver is a 3.5-point favorite over Los Angeles.
Oddsmakers had a good feeling about the line for this game, as the Nuggets entered the game as favorites to win three points.
The over-under is 218.5 points.
See NBA picks for all games, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. Get your picks now.
Series history
Denver has won eight of its last 10 games against Los Angeles.
- December 6, 2023 – Los Angeles 111 vs. Denver 102
- November 27, 2023 – Denver 113 vs. Los Angeles 104
- November 14, 2023 – Denver 111 vs. Los Angeles 108
- February 26, 2023 – Denver 134 vs. Los Angeles 124
- January 13, 2023 – Denver 115 vs. Los Angeles 103
- January 5, 2023 – Denver 122 vs. Los Angeles 91
- November 25, 2022 – Denver 114 vs. Los Angeles 104
- March 22, 2022 – Denver 127 vs. Los Angeles 115
- January 19, 2022 – Denver 130 vs. Los Angeles 128
- January 11, 2022 – Los Angeles 87 vs. Denver 85
