Los Angeles @ New Orleans
Current Records: Los Angeles 41-30; New Orleans 31-40
After five games on the road, the New Orleans Pelicans are heading back home. They will take on the Los Angeles Lakers at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday at Smoothie King Center. These two teams have set a high bar for this game after stand-out offensive performances in their previous games.
It was close but no cigar for New Orleans as they fell 125-122 to the Golden State Warriors this past Friday. Despite the loss, the Pelicans got a solid performance out of shooting guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who had 30 points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles beat the Indiana Pacers 122-115 this past Saturday. Los Angeles' power forward Anthony Davis did his thing and dropped a double-double on 28 points and ten boards in addition to five assists.
Los Angeles' win brought them up to 41-30 while New Orleans' defeat pulled them down to 31-40. The Lakers are still in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs, so these next one game are critical for them. The Pelicans have been eliminated from playoff contention.
New Orleans is expected to lose this next one by 8. Now might not be the best time to take New Orleans against the spread since they've let down bettors for the past two consecutive games.
Two numbers to keep in mind before tip-off: New Orleans enters the matchup with 21.4 fouls drawn per game on average, good for second best in the league. Los Angeles is not quite as good, but they are no chumps, either: they rank third in the league when it comes to fouls drawn per game, with 21.3 on average. Be prepared to get familiar with the officiating crew.
The Lakers are a big 8-point favorite against the Pelicans, according to the latest NBA odds.
Bettors have moved against the Lakers slightly, as the game opened with the Lakers as a 10-point favorite.
Over/Under: -110
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Los Angeles have won 12 out of their last 20 games against New Orleans.
