New Orleans @ Oklahoma City

Current Records: New Orleans 27-35; Oklahoma City 21-41

After two games on the road, the Oklahoma City Thunder are heading back home. They will square off against the New Orleans Pelicans at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Oklahoma City should still be feeling good after a win, while New Orleans will be looking to get back in the win column.

Things were close when the Thunder and the Boston Celtics clashed on Tuesday, but Oklahoma City ultimately edged out the opposition 119-115. The top scorer for Oklahoma City was small forward Luguentz Dort (24 points).

Speaking of close games: it was a hard-fought matchup, but New Orleans had to settle for a 114-112 defeat against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. Despite the loss, the Pelicans got a solid performance out of point guard Lonzo Ball, who posted a triple-double on 16 points, 12 dimes, and 12 boards. That's Ball's first triple-double of the season.

The Thunder are expected to lose this next one by 9.5. Their home court has been no bettor's paradise, as they've failed to beat the spread in 20 of their 30 home games.

Oklahoma City is now 21-41 while New Orleans sits at 27-35. A couple stats to keep an eye on: Oklahoma City is third worst in the league in points per game, with only 105.5 on average. New Orleans has experienced some struggles of their own as they are stumbling into the game with the fifth most points allowed per game in the league, having given up 114.9 on average. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.

The Pelicans are a big 9.5-point favorite against the Thunder, according to the latest NBA odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Pelicans as a 9-point favorite.

Over/Under: -110

See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. Get picks now.

Oklahoma City have won 14 out of their last 20 games against New Orleans.