(7) New Orleans (1-3 SU, 0-4 ATS) at (2) Denver (3-1 SU, 4-0 ATS)
The streaking Nuggets return home to the Pepsi Center aiming to finish off the Hornets and advance to the second round for the first time since 1994.
Denver, coming off a hard-fought 95-93 road loss in Game 3, posted a record-tying Game 4 victory, manhandling New Orleans 121-63 as a two-point road underdog. The 58-point margin of victory matched the NBA playoff record set in 1956, when the Minneapolis Lakers rolled the St. Louis Hawks 133-75, but the Lakers were the home team in that one. The Nuggets had seven players reach double digits, led by Carmelo Anthony’s 26 points, while Chauncey Billups added 17 points and eight assists. Denver is on a 17-4 SU run (13-8 ATS) and has cashed in all four games in this series.
All-Star point guard Chris Paul, coming off a 36-point effort in Game 3, finished Monday’s contest with a dismal four points, six assists and six turnovers for New Orleans, which was led by David West’s 14-point effort. The Hornets were down 61-39 at halftime, and it got markedly worse from there as they were outshot 56.6 percent to 31.5 percent and made just 2 of 15 three-pointers (13.3 percent). New Orleans is on a 3-9 SU and 4-8 ATS slide in its last 12 games.
Denver is 5-3 SU and 6-2 ATS against New Orleans this season, cashing in six of the last seven meetings, including the last five in a row. Despite the Nuggets covering the spread in Games 4 and 5 from the underdog role, the chalk is still 6-3 ATS in the last nine meetings in this rivalry. That includes a pair of blowout victories and easy spread-covers by Denver in Games 1 and 2 at the Pepsi Center.
The Nuggets are 35-8 SU (25-17-1 ATS) at home this year, and New Orleans is 21-22 SU (16-26-1 ATS) as a visitor.
The Nuggets have cashed in five of their last six contests dating to the regular season and are on further positive ATS streaks of 12-4 overall, 12-3 against the Western Conference, 11-3 against winning teams, 5-1 after a day off, 8-3 after a spread-cover, 6-1 as a favorite and 6-0 against the Southwest Division.
On the flip side, the Hornets are on a boatload of negative pointspread streaks, including 2-7 overall, 1-4 on the road, 0-7 against the Northwest Division, 1-5 against winning teams, 2-9 against the Western Conference, 6-15 after a SU loss and 7-19 as an underdog.
The under for Denver is 21-7 in its last 28 first-round playoff games, and the under for New Orleans is on stretches of 16-7 overall, 11-4 after a day off and 7-3-1 as a playoff dog. However, the over is 5-1 in the Nuggets’ last six home games (2-0 in this series) and is 9-3 roll in Denver’s last 12 games as a favorite. Finally, in this rivalry, these squads have topped the total in each of their last four meetings at the Pepsi Center.
ATS ADVANTAGE: DENVER
The streaking Nuggets return home to the Pepsi Center aiming to finish off the Hornets and advance to the second round for the first time since 1994.
Denver, coming off a hard-fought 95-93 road loss in Game 3, posted a record-tying Game 4 victory, manhandling New Orleans 121-63 as a two-point road underdog. The 58-point margin of victory matched the NBA playoff record set in 1956, when the Minneapolis Lakers rolled the St. Louis Hawks 133-75, but the Lakers were the home team in that one. The Nuggets had seven players reach double digits, led by Carmelo Anthony’s 26 points, while Chauncey Billups added 17 points and eight assists. Denver is on a 17-4 SU run (13-8 ATS) and has cashed in all four games in this series.
All-Star point guard Chris Paul, coming off a 36-point effort in Game 3, finished Monday’s contest with a dismal four points, six assists and six turnovers for New Orleans, which was led by David West’s 14-point effort. The Hornets were down 61-39 at halftime, and it got markedly worse from there as they were outshot 56.6 percent to 31.5 percent and made just 2 of 15 three-pointers (13.3 percent). New Orleans is on a 3-9 SU and 4-8 ATS slide in its last 12 games.
Denver is 5-3 SU and 6-2 ATS against New Orleans this season, cashing in six of the last seven meetings, including the last five in a row. Despite the Nuggets covering the spread in Games 4 and 5 from the underdog role, the chalk is still 6-3 ATS in the last nine meetings in this rivalry. That includes a pair of blowout victories and easy spread-covers by Denver in Games 1 and 2 at the Pepsi Center.
The Nuggets are 35-8 SU (25-17-1 ATS) at home this year, and New Orleans is 21-22 SU (16-26-1 ATS) as a visitor.
The Nuggets have cashed in five of their last six contests dating to the regular season and are on further positive ATS streaks of 12-4 overall, 12-3 against the Western Conference, 11-3 against winning teams, 5-1 after a day off, 8-3 after a spread-cover, 6-1 as a favorite and 6-0 against the Southwest Division.
On the flip side, the Hornets are on a boatload of negative pointspread streaks, including 2-7 overall, 1-4 on the road, 0-7 against the Northwest Division, 1-5 against winning teams, 2-9 against the Western Conference, 6-15 after a SU loss and 7-19 as an underdog.
The under for Denver is 21-7 in its last 28 first-round playoff games, and the under for New Orleans is on stretches of 16-7 overall, 11-4 after a day off and 7-3-1 as a playoff dog. However, the over is 5-1 in the Nuggets’ last six home games (2-0 in this series) and is 9-3 roll in Denver’s last 12 games as a favorite. Finally, in this rivalry, these squads have topped the total in each of their last four meetings at the Pepsi Center.
ATS ADVANTAGE: DENVER
