NBA Betting Tips: Nuggets and Celtics set for titanic battle

The Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder let down our treble from yesterday, but there's plenty more action to look forward to on Thursday night, including a potential NBA Finals preview between the Denver Nuggets and the Boston Celtics.

That titanic clash, along with a primetime match-up between Miami and Dallas, feature in our NBA Betting Tips for Thursday's matches.

Indiana Pacers to beat Minnesota Timberwolves @ 5/6

Confidence will be high in the Minnesota camp heading into this one as the Timberwolves will carry a four-game road winning streak into Thursday's contest against the Indiana Pacers.

However, the Pacers have won three of their last four home games, and the Timberwolves look set to be without star big man Karl-Anthony Towns, who is battling a knee problem.

Furthermore, Indiana continues to lead the NBA in points, averaging 120.3 per 100 possessions compared to only 114.5 points per 100 by Minnesota. The Timberwolves are unquestionably the better defensive unit, but the absence of Towns could prove to be a costly one on that side of the floor.

Miami Heat to beat Dallas Mavericks @ 13/8

These two teams are on different trajectories heading into this game.

Miami have won seven of their last eight outings as they attempt to pull away from the Eastern Conference play-in places, while Dallas' loss to Indiana last time out marked their third-straight defeat and fifth in their last six.

Despite Dallas' poor form, Luka Doncic is having a stellar campaign and currently leads the league in scoring, averaging 34.6 points per game. However, the Mavericks have been woeful on the defensive end in recent weeks, meaning that Doncic's offensive efforts have more often than not been wasted.

I'm still expecting the Slovenian to put on another scoring clinic here, but Miami are a sound defensive unit, spearheaded by Jimmy Butler, and they have enough offensive firepower to take the win.

Boston Celtics -1.5 Spread vs Denver Nuggets @ EVS

Our final pick comes from a potential preview of this year's NBA Finals as the Denver Nuggets host the Boston Celtics.

These two teams are the best in basketball: the Nuggets are the reigning champions while the Celtics have the best record in the league, and both teams are looking to overcome stinging losses on Tuesday night.

Boston blew a 22-point, fourth-quarter lead at Cleveland and lost 105-104, ending an 11-game winning streak in the process, while Denver rallied from 22-down to take a three-point lead against Phoenix in the final minute, only to see Kevin Durant send it to overtime where the Suns dominated in a 117-107 victory.

Both teams are brilliant defensive outfits, but the C's are elite offensively, and the Nuggets are a middle of the road team when it comes to scoring, which is what I think will be the difference here.

Boston have made the most three-point shots this season, while Denver are the fourth-worst team in the NBA in terms of scoring from beyond the arc.

Check out the rest of our NBA Betting Tips here.