Tip-off: Friday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Chicago -8.5, Total: 194

The Nuggets look for back-to-back road victories on Friday night when they visit a red-hot Bulls team in search of their fifth straight victory.

Denver's 101-90 road victory in Milwaukee on Thursday snapped a five-game losing skid (SU and ATS) and improved the club to an even 13-13-1 ATS (11-16 SU) on the road this season. Chicago won its fourth straight contest (SU and ATS) with a narrow 94-92 victory in Toronto on Wednesday, and now returns home where it is just 12-13 ATS (15-10 SU) this season. These teams last met on Nov. 21 when the Nuggets defeated the Bulls 97-87 as 1.5-point home underdogs, giving them five straight wins (3-2 ATS) in this series. The squads are an even 5-5 SU in the past 10 meetings at United Center, with Chicago holding the slight 5-4-1 ATS advantage. Denver is 28-15 ATS (65%) after playing a game as a road favorite over the past three seasons, but Chicago is 16-6 ATS (73%) on Friday nights over the past two seasons. This doesn’t seem like much of an advantage, but Denver is a paltry 1-11 ATS on Friday nights this season. Although both teams will be missing their star point guards for while, as PG Ty Lawson (ribs) is out indefinitely and PG Derrick Rose (knee) is out for the season, newly-acquired PG Aaron Brooks will be available to play for the Nuggets on Friday night.

Can the Nuggets put an end to the Bulls' winning streak on Friday night? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2012-13 season. The five StatFox experts have been sizzling with a 62% ATS record (23-14-1) since Feb. 10, making them 53% ATS (148-131-7) since Dec. 1. StatFox Zach has a stellar 59% ATS mark (32-22-3) on Best Bets since Dec. 1 and is 54% ATS (43-36-3) on Best Bets for the season. StatFox Dave has a strong 58% ATS (33-24-1) Best Bets record since Dec. 1 and is 53% ATS (43-38-1) on Best Bets for the season, while StatFox Brian is catching fire, going 75% ATS (15-5-1) since Jan. 25 and 61% ATS (30-19-1) in Best Bets since Dec. 12.

The Nuggets have been a strong offensive team this season with 103.1 PPG (11th in NBA) on decent shooting percentages of 44.8% FG and 35.8% threes. Although they shoot poorly from the foul line (72.4% FT, 4th-worst in league), they rebound quite well with 45.4 RPG (5th in NBA). However, poor defense has hurt Denver all season, as the club allows 104.4 PPG (3rd-worst in league) despite quality shooting defense numbers of 45.0% FG and 33.9% threes (4th in NBA). The Nuggets defense has been awful during their recent 1-5 stretch, as opponents have dropped 113.5 PPG on 49.4% FG and 35.7% threes. PF Kenneth Faried (11.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG) is coming off of a monster performance in Thursday's win over Milwaukee, finishing with 26 points (11-of-15 FG) and six rebounds in 39 minutes. Faried had also tallied a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) with two blocks in the first meeting between these teams this season. C J.J. Hickson (11.7 PPG, 9.4 RPG) also played well in that matchup with Chicago, scoring 14 points and with nine rebounds in 29 minutes of play. Hickson also posted his sixth double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) in the past nine games on Thursday. The Nuggets are going to need a big game from SG Randy Foye (11.7 PPG, 3.2 APG) in this one. Playing without Ty Lawson, Foye is acting as the team’s primary ball handler with 7.3 APG over the past four games, including 10 assists in Wednesday's victory. He will be going up against a quicker player in D.J. Augustin, so he must be prepared to work hard defensively.

Chicago remains the lowest-scoring offense in the NBA with a mere 92.3 PPG, and makes a paltry 42.7% FG (3rd-worst in league) and 33.8% threes (4th-worst in NBA). This club also commits too many turnovers at 14.8 per game (7th-most in league). But on the other end of the court, the Bulls are outstanding, allowing only 92.3 PPG (2nd in NBA) on 43.4% FG (3rd in league), thanks in big part to a +3.6 RPG margin (3rd in NBA) and 5.3 blocks per game (8th in league). Chicago’s defense has been stellar during its win streak where the team has allowed just 84.8 PPG on 42.3% FG (31.6% threes) in the four victories. The last time the Bulls played against the Nuggets on Nov. 21, PF Carlos Boozer (14.9 PPG, 8.6 RPG) and SF Mike Dunleavy (10.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG) each scored 15 points. The Bulls will need more production out of them in this game, as last time they played Denver they had injured PG Derrick Rose and SF Luol Deng (traded) who combined for 25 points, 17 rebounds and six assists. D.J. Augustin (11.1 PPG, 4.5 APG) has done a great job subbing in for Rose and will need to take advantage of a Denver team that is thinning at the point guard position. Augustin had 19 points (7-of-15 FG) in the win over Toronto Wednesday, and he will need to use his quickness to blow by Randy Foye, who is a slower shooting guard that is stuck with the Nuggets’ point-guard duty. SG Jimmy Butler (12.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG) didn’t play the last time the Bulls faced Denver, but he is averaging 14.0 PPG (61% FG), 8.0 RPG and 3.7 APG over the past three games. He also has a total of five blocks and five steals in those contests. Butler's all-around game makes him an X-factor in determining who wins Friday's matchup.