NBA Predictions For Tuesday, 1/20

The Knicks actually won a game, the Cavs kept rolling, the Warriors went nuts and home teams went a ridiculous 10-2 as we rode a nice 11-1 record on MLK Day. That lifted us to a strong 344-177 on the year and if it hadn’t been for the Knicks, we would have had a perfect night despite a litany of NBA contests.

We get a break the day after all of that chaos, as Tuesday offers just two NBA clashes, with the Heat and Thunder waging war and the Spurs and Nuggets capping things off. Let’s see if we can’t guide NBA bettors to a nice 2-0 sweep with our NBA picks for tonight:

Oklahoma City Thunder @ Miami Heat

After some ugly blowout losses, the Thunder seem to be back to playing true OKC basketball. Kevin Durant has specifically been playing fantastic ball lately and Oklahoma City will enter South Beach with a two-game winning streak. Dwyane Wade might sit out yet another game as he tries to get to 100% after hurting his hamstring, but even if he plays it’s going to take a huge effort for the Heat to dispatch the Thunder.

Pick: Thunder 102, Heat 97

San Antonio Spurs @ Denver Nuggets

Denver just got absolutely trounced by the Warriors on Monday night, so it could be tough for them to turn right around and defend their turf tonight. Make it against the defending champion Spurs, and it gets even tougher. The Nuggets can still match just about anyone when they’re running and gunning, but their poor interior defense could be a real problem if Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter are active (potential rest). They probably will be, which means San Antonio should be able to score down low with ease, and they’ll probably defend the post pretty well, too. The Spurs will want to make sure Ty Lawson doesn’t dictate the pace of this game, though, and if they can keep it under control they should get a nice road win.

Pick: Spurs 106, Nuggets 98