The Oklahoma City Thunder (31-35, 11-20 Away), one of the NBA’s top scoring teams, are on the road to face the New Orleans Pelicans (32-34, 21-11 Home) on Saturday. Oklahoma City was dismantled by the Phoenix Suns 132-101 at Footprint Center on Wednesday, their third loss in a row away from home.
Lindy Waters III had a standout performance in the loss with 23 points. The Thunder are 11th in the Western Conference. New Orleans found victory on Wednesday at Smoothie King Center, beating the Dallas Mavericks 113-106. CJ McCollum had 32 points, leading the team. The Pelicans are 10th in the Western Conference.
The teams are meeting for the last time this season. After taking all three of the earlier season matchups against Oklahoma City, the last of which was a 103-100 victory at Paycom Center on February 13, their third straight head-to-head victory, New Orleans will be aiming for a season sweep. Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 34 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points in the loss.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.2 points per game, fifth-highest in the league, to lead the Thunder in scoring this season. Meanwhile, Josh Giddey is contributing 7.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. McCollum (21.2 ppg) has powered the Pels on offense. McCollum also has recorded 5.8 assists per game.
Jonas Valanciunas has pulled down 9.7 rebounds per game. The Thunder rank as one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NBA, second-best with 118.2 points per game. The Thunder are 6-4 in the last 10 visits to Smoothie King Center.
In the last 10 games, Oklahoma City is 4-6 with an average margin of +2.1 (121.3-119.2). New Orleans has a 3-7 record over the last 10, allowing 112.9 points per game on average while scoring only 106.2 (-6.7 margin). The Pelicans are averaging 114.1 ppg for the full season while allowing 113.4.
THUNDER HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Jalen Williams: 35.7 | 20.6 | +15.1
Points per game:
Jalen Williams: 25.3 | 13.3 | +12.1
Rebounds per game:
Jaylin Williams: 6.4 | 4.7 | +1.7
Assists per game:
Josh Giddey: 11.0 | 6.2 | +4.8
PELICANS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Josh Richardson: 10.0 | 17.0 | -7.0
Points per game:
Jonas Valanciunas: 9.0 | 14.1 | -5.1
Rebounds per game:
Jonas Valanciunas: 7.0 | 9.7 | -2.7
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
NO Pelicans (-130)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
