The New Orleans Pelicans (39-38, 24-13 Home) welcome the Los Angeles Clippers (41-37, 20-19 Away) Saturday at Smoothie King Center. Los Angeles is playing on back-to-back days after being beaten by the Memphis Grizzlies 108-94 at FedExForum yesterday. Norman Powell was the leading scorer in the loss with 16 points.
Ivica Zubac added 15 points and 15 rebounds. The Clippers are the fifth seed in the Western Conference. New Orleans won in dominating fashion on Thursday at Ball Arena, beating the Denver Nuggets 107-88. Brandon Ingram had a triple double with 31 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists to lead the team.
The Pelicans are seventh in the Western Conference.The teams are meeting for the last time this season. New Orleans will be looking for a season sweep against Los Angeles after winning both of their previous matchups, the last of which was a 131-110 victory at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, their third straight head-to-head victory.
Ingram led the Pelicans with 32 points and 13 assists. Bones Hyland had 18 points in the loss. Paul George is averaging 23.8 points per game to lead the Clips in scoring this season. George also has dished 5.1 assists per game. Meanwhile, Zubac is grabbing 10.0 rebounds.
CJ McCollum has powered the Pels’ offense, averaging 20.9 points per game. McCollum also has tallied 5.9 assists per game. Jonas Valanciunas has averaged 10.1 rebounds per game. The Clippers have come up short more often than not in recent visits to Smoothie King Center, losing seven of the last 10.
Meanwhile, the Clippers are 4-9 this season when playing on consecutive nights and 2-9 with a rest disadvantage. The Pelicans are 6-2 with a rest advantage. Los Angeles is 6-4 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +3.6 (116.1-112.5).
New Orleans has gone 7-3 over the last 10, scoring 116.9 points per game on average while holding opponents to 104.2 (+12.7 margin). The Pelicans are averaging 114.2 ppg for the full season while allowing 112.2.
CLIPPERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Bones Hyland: 24.6 | 17.4 | +7.2
Mason Plumlee: 12.4 | 23.3 | -10.9
Points per game:
Bones Hyland: 15.4 | 11.9 | +3.5
Rebounds per game:
Mason Plumlee: 5.0 | 9.1 | -4.1
PELICANS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Brandon Ingram: 46.4 | 35.0 | +11.4
Zion Williamson: 0.0 | 36.3 | -36.3
Points per game:
Trey Murphy III: 20.6 | 13.9 | +6.7
Zion Williamson: 0.0 | 25.1 | -25.1
Rebounds per game:
Jonas Valanciunas: 14.8 | 10.1 | +4.7
Zion Williamson: 0.0 | 6.7 | -6.7
Assists per game:
Brandon Ingram: 8.8 | 5.5 | +3.3
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
NO Pelicans (-160)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
