New Orleans @ Philadelphia
Current Records: New Orleans 30-36; Philadelphia 45-21
The Philadelphia 76ers will be returning home after a three-game road trip. They will square off against the New Orleans Pelicans at 7 p.m. ET Friday at Wells Fargo Center. Both teams seek to continue their momentum from their previous wins.
You're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for the 76ers on Wednesday. They made easy work of the Houston Rockets and carried off a 135-115 win. It was another big night for Philadelphia's center Joel Embiid, who dropped a double-double on 34 points and 12 rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which Embiid has had at least ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, New Orleans didn't have too much breathing room in their game with the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, but they still walked away with a 108-103 victory. New Orleans relied on the efforts of point guard Lonzo Ball, who shot 7-for-13 from beyond the arc and finished with 33 points and six boards, and power forward Zion Williamson, who posted a double-double on 23 points and 12 boards in addition to seven assists.
Philadelphia is the favorite in this one, with an expected 9.5-point margin of victory. They might be worth taking a chance on against the spread as they are currently on a two-game streak of ATS wins.
Philadelphia is now 45-21 while the Pelicans sit at 30-36. Two stats to keep an eye on: The 76ers rank fourth in the league when it comes to fouls drawn per game, with 21.1 on average. But New Orleans is even better: they enter the contest with 21.4 fouls drawn per game on average, good for second best in the league. Be prepared to get familiar with the officiating crew.
The 76ers are a big 9.5-point favorite against the Pelicans, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the 76ers as an 8.5-point favorite.
Over/Under: -109
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Philadelphia have won six out of their last ten games against New Orleans.
