Denver Nuggets at Dallas Mavericks (-5) Betting Odds

Denver (48-26-, 31-37-6 ATS) is wrapping up a five-game road trip, which has gone poorly thus far. The Nuggets lost 103-97 in Orlando on the weekend, dropping the team to 1-4 over its past five outings (one of those games came at home). The run has been equally disastrous on NBA odds, with Denver failing to cover once in its past five games away from home (0-4-1 ATS). Overall, the Nuggets have been a nightmare at the sportsbook; they haven't covered since a March 13 win over Memphis, going 1-7-1 ATS since then.

Scoring is down in Denver, which is the primary reason for a slump. Denver ranks third in the NBA at 107.1 points per game, but that figure has dipped nearly 10 points during the last four losses. Responsibility falls on several players' shoulders. Second-leading scorer Chauncey Billups is shooting just 33.7 percent over his past five starts, while JR Smith has had a few underwhelming, 11-point nights during the same stretch. Carmelo Anthony continues to get the job done, though, and has actually upped his average during the slump.

The Mavericks (48-25, 29-42-2 ATS) have won just three times in their past seven games, snapping all momentum from a recent 13-game winning streak. They did manage to crush Golden State on the weekend, though, picking up a 111-90 road victory. Not unlike Denver, the Mavericks have been terrible on NBA odds-while they covered against the Warriors, they're just 1-6-1 against the spread in their past eight games. Playing at home will offer little respite, as Dallas is 1-7-2 against the spread in its last 10 games at American Airlines Center.

Dallas is also suffering through some scoring issues right now though, in this case, much of the blame belongs to the team's best player. Dirk Nowitzki leads Dallas in scoring this season at 24.5 points per game, but that number is shrinking. The big German has failed to crack 20 points in his past four outings and he managed just 15.5 points per game over that stretch. He scored just 13 points against Golden State but was bailed out by rookie Rodrigue Beaubois, who dropped a career-high 40 points on the Warriors.

This head-to-head series has been dominated by the Nuggets; they're 8-2 straight up and 7-2-1 against the spread in their past 10 games with Dallas. The total-which BetUS.com has set at 210.5-has gone over in five of their past six match ups.

Game Pick - Prediction
Take the Maevericks