San Antonio Spurs (12-24) vs. Brooklyn Nets (24-12)
January 2, 2023 7:30 pm EDT
The Line: Brooklyn Nets -13.5; Over/Under: +229.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The San Antonio Spurs and the Brooklyn Nets duke it out at the Barclays Center on Monday night.
The San Antonio Spurs have been in a rut as they’ve lost five of their last eight games and they will be hoping to bounce back here after coming up just short to the Mavericks in a 126-125 loss on Saturday. Keldon Johnson led the team with 30 points on 10 of 19 shooting, Jeremy Sochan added 20 points, Jakob Poeltl scored 19 points with 15 rebounds and six assists while Tre Jones tallied 18 points with six assists. As a team, the Spurs shot 55 percent from the field and eight of 19 from the 3-point line which was good enough to claw back from a 17-point deficit, only to come up painfully short with Jones missing two crucial free throws in the final 3.1 seconds.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets have been the hottest team in the league as they’ve won 15 of their past 16 games overall and they will be aiming for a 12th straight victory after routing the Hornets in a 123-106 road win on Saturday. Kyrie Irving led the team with 28 points, six rebounds and four assists, Kevin Durant added 23 points on nine of 15 shooting while Royce O’Neale and Nic Claxton each scored 14 points. As a team, the Nets shot a sizzling 60 percent from the field and 13 of 34 from the 3-point line as they took control of the game right from the start and never under pressure after jumping out to an early double-digit lead.
Looking at the betting trends, the Spurs are 2-7 ATS in their last nine road games, 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record and 4-11 ATS in their last 15 games following a loss. The Nets are 13-37-2 ATS in their last 52 home games, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record and 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall.
Head to head, the over is 5-1 in the last six meetings overall, the Spurs are 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings overall and the Spurs are 16-6 ATS in the last 22 meetings in Brooklyn.
The Spurs could be shorthanded here as Devin Vassell is questionable while Keita Bates-Diop is out. The Nets are just about at full strength for this one and they’ve clearly been the hottest team in the league as they’re piling on the wins on a nightly basis now. The Spurs have been playing well below their best lately and they had to play their A-game just to hang with the Mavericks in their last outing, but I don’t think they will be able to test the Nets here.
