Magic vs Nuggets prediction NBA · Thursday, December 18
At a glance
The Denver Nuggets (19-6) host the Orlando Magic (15-11) on Thursday, December 18 at 9:00 PM ET at Ball Arena in NBA action. Final score: Magic 115 – Nuggets 126. Before tip-off, the Basketlog model gave the Nuggets a 70% chance to win: prediction correct. This season, the Nuggets are 7-4 at home and the Magic are 5-6 on the road. Over the last 10 games: 7-3 for the Nuggets and 6-4 for the Magic (current streaks: Nuggets W5, Magic L1).
The analysis Model
The Nuggets are favored, but the gap isn't huge. The model projects Nuggets 120 – 113 Magic, a margin of about 6.6 points in favor of the Nuggets and a total around 233 points. Expect a fast-paced, high-scoring game.
- The overall strength gap (+6.4 vs +2.2 pts/game) is the main factor.
- The Magic need to win the pace battle to stay in the game.
- The Nuggets' offense (124.0 pts/game) is the more productive of the two.
- The Magic's defense allows clearly fewer points (111.4 pts/game).
What tips the balance
Scenarios
Stat comparison Current season
ORLDEN
Top performers
Magic
Paolo BancheroF · #526pts / gamePaolo BancheroF · #510assistsPaolo BancheroF · #516reboundsNuggets
Jamal MurrayG · #2732pts / game
Nikola JokicC · #1513assistsNikola JokicC · #1511reboundsRecent form
ORLDEN
ORL
Team comparison
| ORL | DEN | |
|---|---|---|
| 15-11 | Record | 19-6 |
| 114.0 | Points scored / game | 124.0 |
| 111.4 | Points allowed / game | 116.4 |
| +2.2 | Adjusted margin / game | +6.4 |
| L1 | Current streak | W5 |
| 6-4 | Last 10 games | 7-3 |
| 5-6 road | Home / road record | 7-4 home |
| 41-41 (-0.1) | Last season | 50-32 (+3.9) |
| No | Played yesterday | No |
Injury report Magic
Injury report Nuggets
Probabilities estimated by the Basketlog model from available public data. They are neither a certainty nor betting advice.