Orlando Magic vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 12/18/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Orlando Magic vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Thursday, December 18, 2025

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: Altitude

Odds/Point Spread: Orlando (+7.5)

The Orlando Magic (15-11) are traveling to Ball Arena on Thursday where they will go up against the Denver Nuggets (19-6). Denver is 7.5-point favorites. The total is 235.

The Magic faced off with the Knicks and took a loss by a final of 132-120 in their last contest. In relation to personal fouls, the Magic ended up walking away with 24 and the Knicks recorded 23 personal fouls. They knocked down 7 of 20 shots from 3-point range. New York ended up shooting 74.2% at the charity stripe by knocking down 23 of their 31 tries. On top of that, New York totaled 41 rebounds (8 offensive, 33 defensive) and had 3 rejections. New York recorded 28 dimes and had 9 steals for the matchup. In reference to the defense, Orlando allowed the other team to go 60.7% from the field on 51 out of 84 shooting. They also dished out 28 dimes for this game while forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and having 9 steals. In reference to grabbing boards, they earned 41 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Magic knocked down 17 of their 25 tries for a rate of 68.0%. Orlando finished the contest having earned a 46.4% field goal percentage (45 out of 97) and made 13 of their 42 shots from distance.

Jalen Suggs is one player who was a major factor for this contest. He recorded 26 points on 10 out of 16 shooting. He was on the court for 29 mins and grabbed 2 rebounds. Suggs walked away from this one shooting 62.5% from the field and also earned 7 assists.

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Orlando will take the court with a win-loss record of 15-11 on the campaign. They are averaging 117.9 pts per game (14th in the league) while shooting 47.1% from the field. The Magic are connecting on 34.4% on three-point attempts (297 of 864) and 79.6% from the free throw line. As a unit, Orlando is snagging 44.9 boards per contest and has totaled 668 dimes this year, which has them ranked 16th in the league in terms of passing the rock. They cough up possession 14.5 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 21.1 personal fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Magic are able to force 15.4 turnovers per game and they draw 23.0 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 4th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 627 conceded on the campaign. The Magic are allowing a FG percentage of 47.6% (1,084 of 2,276) and they surrender 42.2 rebounds per contest as a squad. They concede 35.9% from beyond the arc and they rank 8th in the league in points per game allowed (114.1).

In their last game, the Nuggets got the win with a final of 128-125 when they played the Rockets. In relation to rebounds, Denver permitted Houston to get 46 in total (12 offensive). They finished the game shooting 48.0% from distance by going 12 of 25 and finished the game at 19 out of 26 at the free throw line (73.1%). The Nuggets allowed the Rockets to convert 47 of 93 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 50.5% in this matchup. When all was said and done, the Nuggets went 43 out of 85 from the floor which had them shooting 50.6%. When talking about shooting from beyond the arc, Denver made 15 of their 34 tries (44.1%). They were able to bury 27 of them for a clip of 81.8%. The Rockets committed 25 fouls in the matchup which got the Nuggets to the free throw line for 33 tries. They coughed up the ball 11 times, while recording 10 steals in the game. The Nuggets were able to collect 31 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 38 in this game.

Nikola Jokic was important for the Nuggets for this game. Jokic accumulated 39 points in his 42 minutes of playing time and totaled 10 dimes in this contest. He made 13 out of 27 for this contest for a rate of 48.1%, and accounted for 15 rebounds.

Denver has a record of 19-6 so far this year. As an offensive team, the Nuggets are hitting on 51.6% from the floor, which has them ranked 1st in the league. Denver has accounted for 3,140 points for the season (125.6 per game) and they snag 44.6 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 29.4 times per game (4th in the NBA) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.4 times per contest. The Nuggets are responsible for committing 19.6 fouls every game and they connect on 82.0% from the free throw line.

The Denver defense allows 34.2% on shots from behind the 3-point line (325 of 949) and their opponents are knocking down 78.8% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 26.6 assists and 40.7 total rebounds per game, which is 14th and 3rd in the NBA. The Nuggets defensively are ranked 16th in basketball in PPG allowed with 116.2. They are forcing their opponents into 12.5 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.6% from the field (13th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Orlando (+7.5)

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