The Miami Heat visit the Ball Arena on Thursday to face the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. In the Western Conference Finals, the first-seeded Denver Nuggets took down the LA Lakers, prevailing 111-113 in the last game. The Miami Heat, who reached the playoffs via the play-in, triumphed against the Boston Celtics. They won the final match 84-103. The stage is set for a monumental showdown. The Denver Nuggets are favorites and fans are eagerly waiting to see if they can deliver as 8.5-point favorites against the Miami Heat.

Form Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets sealed a triumphant journey to the NBA Finals by defeating the LA Lakers in the Western Conference Finals,. The decisive match ended with a 111-113 win. Now they return to the Ball Arena with a 42-7 record at home.

Going into Thursday’s game, the Denver Nuggets have been fairly average in terms of their offensive output, averaging 115.9 points per contest. Defensively, the Denver Nuggets are about average. They’ve held opposing offenses to 111.8 points per game on average.

The Denver Nuggets had their sights firmly set on the NBA title as they began their playoff run. All their hard work has been rewarded so far, as they have achieved a 65-32 record. It’s now time for them to give their all on the court and find out if they have what it takes to bring home the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy.

The only reported injury concern for the Denver Nuggets is Collin Gillespie.

Nikola Jokic has been a standout in the playoffs, leading the Denver Nuggets in scoring with 29.9 points, as well as averaging 13.2 rebounds and 10.3 assists.

Form Miami Heat

The Miami Heat advanced to the NBA Finals after overcoming the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. They earned the victory with a 84-103 score in the decisive game. During this season, their road record has been 23-28.

The Miami Heat have had trouble scoring points this season. Their 109.7 points per game average ranks them near the bottom of NBA teams in this category. The Miami Heat have held opponents to an average of 109.3 points per game at home and 109.9 points when playing on the road.

The Miami Heat defied critics by going beyond all expectations and making it to the NBA Finals. Initially, it was thought they wouldn’t get very far, but this has been an incredible ride. Now, just one more step stands between them and the championship. Can they make it happen?

The Miami Heat enter their latest game with 3 players sidelined: Victor Oladipo, Gabe Vincent and Tyler Herro.

Jimmy Butler leads the postseason scoring charts with an average of 28.2 points from 19 games. Bam Adebayo holds the second spot among the Miami Heat scorers with an average of 16.1 points, followed by Caleb Martin with an average of 13 points.

H2H

The regular season featured two matchups between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat. The hosts emerged victorious in each of them, resulting in a final score of 2-0. With Game 1 of this playoff tie on the horizon, there is a reason for the Denver Nuggets to feel confident. Looking back at their recent record against the Miami Heat at the Ball Arena, they went 7-3.

Nikola Jokic double-doubled in the most recent encounter. He led the way for the Denver Nuggets with 27 points and snagged a further 12 rebounds. Jimmy Butler shined with an impressive performance of his own. The Miami Heat player had a double-double, recording a team-high of 24 points and ten rebounds.

In their past ten meetings, the Denver Nuggets pulled off 109.5 points on average per game, whereas Miami Heat managed 102 points per match.

Betting

Bet365 has the odds for the Denver Nuggets vs Miami Heat game at the Ball Arena.To see all the options available

• Moneyline (ML): Miami Heat (+300) | Denver Nuggets (-380)
• Against the spread (ATS): Miami Heat +8.5 (-105) | Denver Nuggets -8.5 (-115)
• Over/Under (O/U): 219.5 (-110) | (-110)

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Moneyline

Take the Denver Nuggets to win (1.26) on the moneyline.

The Denver Nuggets go into Thursday’s game with the advantage, being given -380 moneyline odds. This suggests there is a 79% chance of the hosts coming out victorious. They have been successful in ten out of the last ten games at the Ball Arena, and their last game saw them beat the LA Lakers 111-113. Despite a dominant 84-103 victory against the Boston Celtics last time out, the Miami Heat are the +300 underdogs. They’ve gone 6-4 recently, including 3-2 in their last five on the road.

It is an attractive proposition to bet on the Denver Nuggets with -380 to come out on top. The Ball Arena has been a favorable arena for the home team this season, boasting a 42-7 record. In their last five games at home, they have won five of them.

Against the Spread

Go for the Denver Nuggets -8.5 (1.87) if you’re looking for a safe bet.

It’s heating up as the Denver Nuggets open up as the blazing 8.5-point favorites over the Miami Heat! The Denver Nuggets were victorious in four out of their last five home encounters in this series. The average margin of victory was 14.8 points.

The Denver Nuggets have failed to cover the spread in their last two games at the Ball Arena. Their home record this season is 30-18-1 ATS. The Denver Nuggets have scored 117.5 points and allowed 109.4 points on average in their previous ten matches. They covered on six occasions.

The Miami Heat have achieved a record of 44-55-3 against the spread for the season after covering the spread in two successive contests. Against teams from the Western Conference, the Miami Heat have gone 71-68 ATS in recent matchups. In their last ten games, they have covered the spread six times.

Over/Under

Take the Total over 219.5 (1.91) for the best over/under bet

In the previous ten matchups between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat, the combined total points scored have been relatively low, with an average of 211.5.

There have been five occasions in the last ten encounters between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat when the combined score was more than 219.5 points, which gives bettors -110 odds if they choose to go Over on the Total market. This makes betting Over an attractive option.

At the Ball Arena, the Denver Nuggets have gone 20-28 O/U against the total. Their record for the season is 45-49 O/U. In the last five matches home games for the Denver Nuggets, the total averaged 221.0 points. The score went under three times, going 5-5 O/U in the last ten matches overall.

The Miami Heat are 50-50 O/U this season. In four of their last five games, the total went under. The Miami Heat had four of their previous 10 games going above the predicted total line, averaging 211.4 points.