- The Oklahoma City Thunder are favored by eight points over the Indiana Pacers in their finals rematch tonight.
- The Denver Nuggets are two point underdogs in their season opener against the Golden State Warriors.
INDIANAPOLIS – The NBA features a two-game slate on Thursday night, beginning with a rematch of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers, followed by the Golden State Warriors hosting the Denver Nuggets.
Here is one game pick and one player prop for each of tonight’s games.
Thunder vs Pacers Game Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder | -8.0 (-105) | -320 | O 232.5 (-110) |
| Pacers | +8.0 (-115) | +260 | U 232.5 (-110) |
Legal sports betting sites list the Thunder as eight point favorites over the Pacers on the road after their thrilling double OT victory over the Rockets on Tuesday night.
The Pacers are one of two teams who have yet to play their season opener, so it would be unsurprising to see Indiana get off to a slow start in this one.
The obvious headline is the absence of Tyrese Haliburton, who will likely miss the entirety of the season with a torn achilles, suffered in Game 7 of last season’s finals.
In his absence, Andrew Nembhard will likely shoulder most of the ball-handling duties for the Pacers. Indiana will also be without backup point guard TJ McConnell, as well as 38th overall pick Kam Jones, shifting even more responsibility on Nembhard.
In 43 career games without Haliburton, Nembhard has averaged 6.8 assists, as opposed to just 4.0 assists per game with Haliburton in the lineup.
He has -165 odds to record over 6.5 assists, which could be a good leg to throw into a parlay, or +110 odds to record over 7.5 assists which offers much better odds with higher risk.
As for how these injuries bode for the game itself, bettors should lean towards the Thunder to cover the eight point spread.
Nuggets vs Warriors Game Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuggets | +2.0 (-110) | +115 | O 234.0 (-110) |
| Warriors | -2.0 (-110) | -135 | U 234.0 (-110) |
The Warriors are favored by just two points at legal NBA betting sites for their home opener against the Nuggets.
Golden State put together an impressive performance on Tuesday night to defeat the Lakers 119-109 on the road, led by 31 points from Jimmy Butler.
This will be Denver’s first game of the season, sporting a roster with a few notable additions, including Cam Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas, Tim Hardaway Jr., and the return of Bruce Brown.
The Nuggets won two of the three matchups between the two teams last season and one of two on the road.
With Denver’s bolstered lineup and Golden State’s lack of size, picking the Nuggets to win outright at +115 is the best option for bettors.
Nikola Jokic averaged 35.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game in the two games he played against the Warriors last season, for an average of 54 total points, rebounds, and assists.
His line tonight is set at 48.5 total points, rebounds, and assists with -120 odds to cash the over. The Warriors did add Al Horford in the offseason, but he should not pose a significant problem for Jokic.
