NBA London 2017: Start time, prediction, team news, line-ups, live, TV, betting odds - Indiana Pacers vs Denver Nuggets preview

1/7
James Benge12 January 2017

The NBA returns for its seventh regular season game in London on Thursday as the Indiana Pacers take on the Denver Nuggets.

London welcomes one of basketball’s top stars in Pacers’ forward Paul George who will lead one of the most in-form teams in the league; Indiana have won each of their last five and hold fifth spot in the Eastern Conference.

A youthful Denver side have not yet peaked but have shown plenty of promise and the league’s sixth highest average scorers remain in the hunt for a much-coveted playoff spot.

As ever the NBA action will be the hottest ticket in London and with two exciting, youthful teams fans at the O2 and watching at home are unlikely to be disappointed.

Scroll down for all you need to know

START TIME

Tip off at the O2 Arena between the Pacers and Nuggets is scheduled for 8pm UK time.

LIVE COVERAGE

The match will be televised live on BT Sport 1 and free to air on BT Sport Showcase, which is Freeview channel 59.

In a UK first fans will also be able to watch the game if they are out and about through the BT Sport and NBA Facebook pages. You can also follow Standard Sport on Twitter for the best videos, photos and reaction from the O2.

TICKETS

A limited number of tickets for the game were still available at time of writing through the O2 website.

TEAM INFO

Indiana (20 wins-18 losses) brought a near full-strength squad with them across the Atlantic though backup point guard Rodney Stuckey will not feature in Thursday’s game.

The Pacers are on a five-game win streak and increasingly look like a potential challenger to NBA champions the Cleveland Cavaliers in the regular season. Small forward George is undoubtedly the star man, just two-and-a-half years after a major leg break that threatened his career he has established himself as one of the league’s top 10 players.

Denver has no such star name but is confident of building a bright future with a vibrant, youthful team. Leading scorer Danilo Gallinari is one of several international names on the roster, whilst Serbian big man Nikola Jokic was one of the league’s top rookies last season.

ONE TO WATCH

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Paul George wondered if he would ever play basketball again after suffering an horrific broken leg on duty with the US national team.

Doctors had to put a metal rod in his right leg after he was left with an injury so severe it was more commonly seen in car accidents.

However, the small forward refused to let the injury derail his career and tonight finds himself the headline act at the O2 Arena when his Indiana Pacers take on the Denver Nuggets.

Returning to the sport was an achievement in itself but now, in the second full season of his comeback, George is better than ever.

“I’m a competitor, if I step on the court it’s game time,” George said at the Pacers’ practice in Farringdon. “I didn’t return to the game to see if I was okay, I came back because I knew I was ready.”

The 26-year-old leads the Pacers in scoring, proves himself an exceptional defender on a nightly basis and is among the few players in the sport capable of taming LeBron James.

The difference a genuine superstar makes in the NBA cannot be underestimated — aside from George the two rosters are evenly matched yet it is Indiana who are on course for the play-offs.

A true star on and off court, all eyes will be on George tonight and he promises to give British basketball fans a show to remember.

“We plan on scoring a lot of points and playing a lot of defence — you’ll see a lot of both.

“Denver are not a bad team at all, it’s going to be a grind for us, but we’re looking forward to the match-up.

“This isn’t a vacation for us, we’re here to win. We enjoy winning.”

PREDICTIONS

ODDS (via 888 Sport)

Match odds TBC

Points scored by player – Paul George

Over 24.5: 5/4

Under 24.5: 5/9

Click here to place a bet. Odds correct as of 8:30am January 12.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in