Best NBA Betting Picks and Predictions for Thursday, January 29

A Western Conference showdown in Minnesota is the main event of an eight-game NBA schedule on Thursday.

The defending champion Thunder (38-10) look to avenge a December loss to the Timberwolves (29-19) when the teams meet at Target Center. It’s the peak attraction in our breakdown of three picks from Thursday’s NBA schedule. Monitor the odds throughout the day, as the sides and totals market is constantly changing.

Here are the free NBA picks for Thursday, January 29.

Best NBA plays today — Odds Courtesy of DraftKings

• Bucks (-2.5) at Wizards
• Mavericks (+4.5) vs. Hornets
• Nets/Nuggets Under (210.5)

Bucks (-2.5) at Wizards

The Wizards have covered four of their last five games, capped off by a home upset of the Trail Blazers as seven-point dogs, 115-111 on Tuesday. Washington hosts Milwaukee looking to beat the Bucks for a third straight time.

The Bucks continue to play without star F Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will likely get dealt before next week’s trade deadline. In the last two matchups with Washington, Milwaukee closed as 10.5-point favorites each time and lost outright, including at the buzzer in the previous meeting on December 31.

Milwaukee has dropped six of seven games, but the Bucks have lost to the Nuggets twice, 76ers, Spurs, Timberwolves, and Thunder in this span. This is actually a good buy-low spot on the Bucks against a Wizards squad that has won consecutive games just twice this season.

Mavericks (+4.5) vs. Hornets

Both teams are playing with no rest as Charlotte seeks its fifth consecutive victory. The Hornets rolled past the Grizzlies last night for their fifth road victory in the past seven tries.

Dallas looks to bounce back after getting routed by Minnesota on Wednesday, 118-105. Rookie star Cooper Flagg sat out for the Mavs with an ankle injury and is questionable heading into tonight’s matchup.

The Mavs had won four straight games before dropping the last two at home to the Lakers and Timberwolves. Dallas has lost three consecutive home contests just once this season and is 3-1 in the past four home matchups with Charlotte. The Mavs are also 6-2 against the spread on the second end of a back-to-back.

Nets/Nuggets Under (210.5)

In the first matchup in Brooklyn earlier this month, the Nets took care of the Nuggets, 127-115. The game easily went Over the total of 225.5, aided by 31 made free throws by Brooklyn.

Tonight’s total drops 15 points in the rematch at Ball Arena in Denver. The Nuggets haven’t topped the 107-point mark in five straight games, while hitting the Under four times in this stretch.

Brooklyn has been held to fewer than 102 points in three of the past four games, including a 66-point showing in a blowout loss at New York. This is the lowest total Denver has seen this season, and after a high-scoring affair in the first matchup, look for a defensive battle in the rematch.