The Portland Trail Blazers (31-36, 14-21 Away) are on the road to face the New Orleans Pelicans (32-35, 21-12 Home) Sunday at Smoothie King Center. Portland was edged out by the Philadelphia 76ers 120-119 at Wells Fargo Center on Friday.
Anfernee Simons led the way in the losing effort with 34 points. The Trail Blazers are the 13th seed in the Western Conference. New Orleans is playing on back-to-back days after falling short yesterday at Smoothie King Center, falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder 110-96.
CJ McCollum had 26 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds in defeat to lead the team. The Pelicans are the 10th seed in the Western Conference. The teams are meeting for the final time this season. Portland and New Orleans have split their two matchups this season.
The Pelicans got the win in the most recent meeting, beating the Trail Blazers 121-110 at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter on March 1. Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 40 points. Damian Lillard had 41 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
The Blazers have been led this season by Lillard, who is averaging 32.1 points per game, third-highest in the league. Lillard also has dished 7.3 assists per game, 10th-most in the league. Meanwhile, Jusuf Nurkic is grabbing 9.3 rebounds. McCollum’s 21.2 points per game have powered the Pels on offense.
McCollum also has distributed 5.8 assists per game. Jonas Valanciunas has averaged 9.6 rebounds per game. The Trail Blazers have come up short more often than not in recent games at Smoothie King Center, losing six of the last 10.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans are 3-6 this season when playing two days in a row and 3-5 in such games against rested opponents. The Trail Blazers are 3-3 with a rest advantage.
Portland is 3-7 in the last 10 games with an average margin of -8.6 (111.8-120.4). New Orleans has also gone 3-7 over the last 10, allowing 112.1 points per game on average while scoring only 105.1 (-7.0 margin). The Pelicans are averaging 113.8 ppg for the full season while allowing 113.4.
TRAIL BLAZERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Anfernee Simons: 37.0 | 28.0 | +9.0
Jusuf Nurkic: 17.0 | 25.7 | -8.7
Points per game:
Anfernee Simons: 34.0 | 21.3 | +12.7
Jusuf Nurkic: 8.0 | 13.5 | -5.5
Rebounds per game:
Damian Lillard: 7.4 | 4.7 | +2.7
Jusuf Nurkic: 5.5 | 9.3 | -3.8
Assists per game:
Anfernee Simons: 2.0 | 4.1 | -2.1
PELICANS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Josh Richardson: 9.7 | 16.9 | -7.2
Points per game:
Josh Richardson: 5.7 | 11.0 | -5.4
Rebounds per game:
Jonas Valanciunas: 6.7 | 9.6 | -2.9
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Portland Trail Blazers (-145)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
