The New Orleans Pelicans (5-3, 3-2 Away), one of the NBA’s top scoring teams, are on the road to face the Atlanta Hawks (5-3, 2-1 Home) on Saturday. New Orleans is playing the second of a back-to-back after defeating the Golden State Warriors 114-105 at Smoothie King Center yesterday. Brandon Ingram was the leading scorer with 26 points. Larry Nance Jr. added 20 points and eight rebounds. The Pelicans are seventh in the Western Conference.
Atlanta got the win on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, beating the New York Knicks 112-99. Dejounte Murray had 36 points, nine assists, and six steals to lead the team. The Hawks are 2.5 games back in the Eastern Conference, currently sitting in fourth.It’s the first meeting of the season between the teams.
New Orleans and Atlanta split their matchups last season, winning one apiece. The Pelicans triumphed in the last meeting 117-112 at State Farm Arena on March 20. Jonas Valanciunas led the Pelicans with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists. Danilo Gallinari had 27 points in defeat. The Pels have been led this season by Ingram (23.0 ppg), Zion Williamson (21.7), and CJ McCollum (20.6).
McCollum also has dished 7.0 assists per game. Meanwhile, Valanciunas is grabbing 9.9 rebounds per game. Trae Young (27.5 ppg) has been the primary provider of the Hawks’ offense. He has the 10th-best scoring average in the league.
Young also has tallied 9.4 assists per game, third-most in the NBA. John Collins has collected 10.3 rebounds per game. The Pelicans are averaging 117.8 points per game, ranking as one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NBA (2nd). The teams have split their last 10 meetings at State Farm Arena (5-5).
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Atlanta Hawks (-140)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
