It’s a potential first-round Western Conference playoff preview Wednesday night when the Sacramento Kings visit the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets with the Kings trying for the unlikely regular-season sweep. It features two of the NBA’s best big men and triple-double guys in Domantas Sabonis and Nikola Jokic.

This concludes the season series between the teams with the Kings going for a stunning four-game sweep. They last played on Feb. 14 in Denver the Kings prevailed 102-98. De’Aaron Fox had 30 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, and Domantas Sabonis had 20 points and 13 rebounds as Sacramento rallied from a 16-point, second-half deficit. Fox scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, including one stretch in the final 2:02 in which he had a personal 8-0 run that turned a one-point deficit into a seven-point lead.

Aaron Gordon had 25 points and season-high 15 rebounds for Denver. Nikola Jokic had an uncharacteristically poor night, missing 11 of his 17 shots and finishing with 15 points. The Nuggets were missing their starting backcourt in Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Sacramento Kings vs. Denver Nuggets Game Information

Business as usual pic.twitter.com/tGGVFJnIgm

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) February 27, 2024

• When: Wednesday, February 28th, 2024, 9:00 PM ET
• Where: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
• TV: Altitude, NBCSCA
• Radio: Sactown Sports 1140 AM (Kings) // Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM (Nuggets)
• Stream: NBA League Pass
• NBA Odds: Kings (+7.5) // Nuggets (-7.5)

Why Bet on the Sacramento Kings?

Sacramento had no right losing at home to a very short-handed Miami team on Monday night but the Kings did lose 121-110 to see a three-game winning streak snapped and get swept in the season series. Jimmy Butler, Thomas Bryant and Nikola Jovic were all serving suspensions for their roles in a melee that occurred in last week’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Tyler Herro (knee), Terry Rozier (knee), Josh Richardson (shoulder), Orlando Robinson (back) and Dru Smith (knee) were all out due to injuries.

The Heat withstood a 20-4 run by Sacramento spanning the first-quarter break to take a 65-62 halftime lead and just built from there. Kevin Love scored 10 points during a 17-2 run to end the third quarter with Miami ahead 101-81 and the game was over. The Heat outscored the Kings 60-50 on points in the paint and 20-7 at the free-throw line. At one point, going into the fourth quarter, the Heat had a 17-4 advantage in points off turnovers.

“It’s like a running joke,” Fox said. “Regardless of who Miami puts out there, it looks like that’s a team that played in the Finals or played together for a while. They have guys who do their job and they have guys who come out, regardless of how long they’ve been with the team, they play hard. … So it’s just their continuity. They play hard. They understand what they need to do. They played zone probably 80% of this game, and it’s their continuity in that defense, just being able to be disruptive, being able to get their hands on the ball.”

Fox shot 13-of-24 to finish with 27 points along with eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. In addition to committing seven of Sacramento’s 15 turnovers, he was much more effective as a scorer during the second (4-of-6 FGs) and fourth (5-of-7 FGs) quarters. Sabonis had 14 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for his NBA-high 21st triple-double of the season. Sabonis also became the 10th player in league history with 40 straight double-doubles in a season.

Keegan Murray had 28 points and five rebounds. Murray drained six three-pointers during one of his best performances of 2024. The All-Star break seemed to have a positive effect on his numbers, as he’s averaging 18.3 points. 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals over the last three games. Excellent reserve and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Malik Monk struggled again with eight points.

The Kings are 30th in the NBA in opponent’s 3-point percentage (.397), which has been a big point of emphasis for coach Mike Brown coming out of the All-Star break. Miami hit 11-for-30 from deep.

Why Bet on the Denver Nuggets?

Denver won its third game in a row Sunday, 119-103 at Golden State. Jokic accounted for 32 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists for his third straight triple-double and 18th of the season. Denver has won their last seven matchups with the Warriors, and Golden State’s inability to deal with Jokic has been a regular theme.

Murray had 27 points after missing the previous game as Murray has been bothered by a persistent case of shin splints. Gordon had 17 points, six rebounds and three steals – the steals tied Gordon’s season high as he scored in double digits for the ninth time in the last 10 games. The veteran forward continues to struggle with his outside shot, making just 28.6 percent (6-for-21) of his three-point attempts over that stretch.

Reserves Christian Braun and Zeke Nnaji supplied big plays down the stretch vs. the Warriors, combining for 13 points and six rebounds. Golden State shot 29% and scored 16 points in the final quarter.

“Efficient and effective,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said of the two bench players. “… I thought both of their defense was outstanding. And that’s important, to play fourth-quarter meaningful minutes. This hasn’t been an easy year for Zeke Nnaji, but I’m really proud of him for staying with it and playing at the level he’s played at in the last three games. He’s only going to continue to get better for us.”

Malone was the head coach in Sacramento for two seasons (2013-15). Kings coach Mike Brown was head coach of the Cavaliers with Malone on his staff as an assistant coach for five seasons from 2005-10.

Kings vs. Nuggets Betting Trends

• Sacramento is 3-6 ATS in the last 9 games.
• The Kings are 4-1 SU in its last 5 games against Denver.
• The totals went over in 8 of Sacramento’s last 11 games.
• Denver is 2-6 ATS in the last 8 games against an opponent in the Pacific Division.
• The Nuggets are 11-5 SU in its last 16 games.
• The totals went over in 13 of Denver’s last 20 games against Sacramento.

Kings vs. Nuggets Expert Betting Prediction

The Nuggets take the win against the Kings.

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