NBA Tips: Saturday Best Bets – 1/11/2025
(Photo credit to the original owner)
The NBA Cup action gets started on Saturday and I’m going to look at two of the best matchups. First off, the Bulls are undefeated and looking to keep things going that way when they face the Knicks. Then in the afternoon, the Trail Blazers are trending upwards but can they stop the mighty Jokic and his Nuggets? Here are my tips, predictions and stats for the NBA Saturday slate.
New York Knicks (2-2) at Chicago Bulls (4-0)
Saturday 01/11/2025 at 11:00am AEDT. Venue: United Center (Chicago)
The Saturday NBA Cup action starts off with an East battle between the undefeated Bulls and Knicks in Chicago.
| SGM Bet | Chicago Bulls +5.5 – Under 234.5 | $3.40 |
|---|---|---|
| Best Bet | Bulls WIN | $2.38 |
Last 5 Form
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls couldn’t have had a better start to the season, winning all 4 games and scoring 119 points per game. They also own the 3rd best defensive record in the East.
New York Knicks
The Knicks started 2-0 but have lost back to back games against the Heat and Bucks on the road. So, they’ll be desperate to avoid going 0-3 in their last 3.
| Team | Opp | Score | Result | H/A | Date | – | Team | Opp | Score | Result | H/A | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHI |  SAC |
126-113 | W | Home | 30/10/25 | – | NY |
 MIL |
111-121 | L | Away | 29/10/25 |
| CHI | ATL | 128-123 | W | Home | 28/10/25 | – | NY |
 MIA |
107-115 | L | Away | 27/10/25 |
| CHI | ORL | 110-98 | W | Away | 26/10/25 | – | NY |
 BOS |
105-95 | W | Home | 25/10/25 |
| CHI |  DET |
115-111 | W | Home | 23/10/25 | – | NY |
 CLE |
119-111 | W | Home | 23/10/25 |
| CHI | MIA |
90-109 | L | Home | 17/04/25 | – | NY |
 IND |
121-130 | L | Away | 28/05/25 |
Head to Head
In the last 2 meetings, the series is split 1-1. The Knicks won a close one in the last meeting but the Bulls won by 13 when these two faced each other in Chicago.
| Home | Score | Away | Result | Arena | Margin | Total | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NY |
113-111 | CHI | Knicks won by 2 pts | @ New York | 2 | 224 | Fri 21-Feb-2025 |
| CHI | 139-126 | NY |
Bulls won by 13 pts | @ Chicago | 13 | 265 | Sun 5-Jan-2025 |
Best Bet
When the Chicago Bulls are home underdogs, they are a perfect 5-0. So, they offer good value to get the upset. At home this season, they are 3-0 and have thrashed the Kings and Hawks in back to back games, while scoring at an average of 127 pts per game. Josh Giddey is scoring 19.5 ppg and dishing out 7.8 assists per game. They have 6 players scoring over 10 pts per game as well.
NBA Same Game Multi Tips
Here are my NBA same game multi tips for the Bulls against the Knicks.
- 1st Leg – Chicago Bulls +5.5: The Bulls are on fire to start the season 4-0 and this should be a close game with the Knicks, making the Bulls a good underdog spread target. They’ve covered in 7 of their last 8 games and love playing at home. On home court, they’ve covered in 5 of their last 6.
- 2nd Leg – Under 234.5: While the Bulls are scoring a lot of points right now, the Knicks are arguably their toughest defensive matchup so far. With the trends saying a low scoring affair, the Under looks a solid bet. The Under is 5-2 in the Bulls last 7 games and 8-4 when they face the Knicks at home.
Denver Nuggets (3-1) at Portland Trail Blazers (3-2)
Saturday 01/11/2025 at 1:00pm AEDT. Venue: Moda Center (Portland)
The Trail Blazers are having a good start to the season but can they keep it going against one of the West contenders in the Nuggets? Here are my tips for Saturday afternoon in Portland.
| SGM Bet | Nikola Jokic 10+ Assists – Jrue Holiday 18+ – Jrue Holiday 3+ Threes | $4.33 |
|---|---|---|
| Best Bet | Bet | $0.00 |
Last 5 Form
Portland Trail Blazers
After a slow start, the Trail Blazers are finding form with 3 wins in their last 4. They held off the Jazz 136-134 last time out and previously crushed the Lakers on the road by 14.
Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets are looking for 4 straight wins when they head to Portland on Saturday. They come off a dominant 122-88 win over the Pelicans and haven’t scored under 120 pts this season.
| Team | Opp | Score | Result | H/A | Date | – | Team | Opp | Score | Result | H/A | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POR |
 UTA |
136-134 | W | Away | 30/10/25 | – | DEN |
 NOR |
122-88 | W | Home | 30/10/25 |
| POR |
 LAL |
122-108 | W | Away | 29/10/25 | – | DEN |
 MIN |
127-114 | W | Away | 28/10/25 |
| POR |
 LAC |
107-114 | L | Away | 27/10/25 | – | DEN |
 PHO |
133-111 | W | Home | 26/10/25 |
| POR |
 GS |
139-119 | W | Home | 26/10/25 | – | DEN |
GS |
94-94 | L | Away | 25/10/25 |
| POR |
MIN |
114-118 | L | Home | 24/10/25 | – | DEN |
 OKC |
93-125 | L | Away | 19/05/25 |
Head to Head
In the last matchup, the Trail Blazers got the upset at home via a dominant 19 pt win. Can they do it again?
| Home | Score | Away | Result | Arena | Margin | Total | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POR |
128-109 | DEN |
Trail Blazers won by 19 pts | @ Portland | 19 | 237 | Sat 22-Mar-2025 |
| DEN |
132-121 | POR |
Nuggets won by 11 pts | @ Denver | 11 | 253 | Thu 13-Feb-2025 |
Best Bet
Both sides are in good shooting form coming into this matchup and that sets up the Over as the best bet. The Nuggets are the top scoring team in the West at 128.3 ppg and Portland aren’t far behind at 123.6. As a result, the Nuggets have a 5-1 record against the Over in their last 6 and it’s solid on the road too, going 6-1 in their last 7. Portland also allow plenty of points with the Over going 4-1 in their last 5 and 6-0 when they face Denver on their home court.
NBA Same Game Multi Tips
Here are my NBA same game multi tips for the Trail Blazers against the Nuggets.
- 1st Leg – Nikola Jokic 10+ Assists: Jokic is having another strong start to the season, especially in the assists territory. He’s coming off 4 straight games with 10 or more assists and a ceiling of 15 against the Suns.
- 2nd Leg – Jrue Holiday 18+ Points: Jrue is enjoying his time at the Trail Blazers after getting traded by the Celtics in the offseason. He’s coming off 3 straight games going over 20 pts with 21, 24 and 27. So 18+ should be a safe bet.
- 3rd Leg – Jrue Holiday 3+ Three Pointers: Jrue is also having a good time beyond the arc, nailing 3 or more threes in 3 straight games too.
