Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Denver Nuggets Game 7 (Series Tied 3-3) - Best Bets & Betting Odds
All odds provided by Sports Interaction.
Thunder vs. Nuggets Player Prop Best Bets
Jamal Murray is an interesting phenomenon in today’s NBA. He was the second-best player on a championship team, but he’s never been an All-Star. Yet, he has more 40-point playoff games than Larry Bird, Dominique Wilkins, and Charles Barkley (Magic, Malone, Tatum, Reggie Miller, Paul Pierce, the list really goes on here, and it is quite shocking). He comes to play when it matters most. And that’s what we’re counting on for Game 7 here.
He has played in four Game 7s since the bubble in 2020. In the first one, he had just 17 against the Utah Jazz—but that was only because he’d put up 50, 42, and 50 in the previous three games. In the next round, he put the Clippers away with another 40-ball. Last year, he did all he could in a losing effort against the Timberwolves with 35 in Game 7. In Denver’s most recent series win, he had just 16 points in the decider, but that game was over early.
Since 2020, Murray has averaged 24.5 points in the playoffs on an insane 46/40/91 shooting line. In this series, he has averaged a flat 22 points per game, and for the entire playoffs, 22.5 points. Nikola Jokic is the best player on this team by far. But when it gets to crunch time, Murray tends to have his say.
He has had 20+ in four of six games this series and nine of 13 in these playoffs. The juice from NBA betting sites is hard to swallow, but that’s because they know he’s a big game player. His regular prop is just 21.5, but those two points can be killers sometimes. Best not to risk it.
And speaking of Denver’s Robin, why not a wager on their Batman? Nikola Jokic has been doing it all this year—and especially this series—for the Nuggets. He leads the team in points, assists, rebounds.. and steals. Jokic is not known as a great defender, but much like James Harden, he still knows how to play the passing lanes.
His 1.8 steals per game during the regular season were second in the NBA and his 2.2 during the playoffs are also second. He has had 2+ thefts in four straight games and nine of 13 in these playoffs. Going back into the regular season, he has multiple swipes in 16 of his last 20 games overall. Again, the juice is a bit much, but that’s because Jokic has been so consistent in this area.
Best Bets
- Jamal Murray 20+ Points (-185)
- Nikola Jokic Over 1.5 Steals (-150)
Thunder vs. Nuggets Moneyline/Point Spread Prediction
This is a really tough one to call, which is why we’re a bit surprised by the massive spread the Thunder are getting here at 7.5 points. This series has been a real see-saw, so that many points feels a little bit out of character here. That’s why we want to jump on it at the expense of the Thunder.
The Nuggets under Jokic have made many deep playoff runs, including that 2023 NBA title. However, when Jokic does not get his team over the line, he ensures they are at least competitive as they are ushered out of the playoffs.
In 2019 they lost by four points when they were eliminated, in 2020 it was 10 to the eventual champion Lakers, against Phoenix in 2021 it was just seven. The Warriors eliminated them with a four-point win in 2022 and the Wolves laid them low with an eight-point win last year.
We do think the Thunder will prevail at home in Game 7, but it will be a hard-fought battle that will be decided in the final moments, not a blowout like this spread would suggest.
Best Bet: Denver Nuggets +7.5 Point Spread (-110)/Sports Interaction
