The New Orleans Pelicans (26-19, 9-13 Away) are on the road to face the Orlando Magic (16-28, 10-12 Home) Friday at Amway Center. New Orleans was outplayed by the Miami Heat 124-98 at Smoothie King Center on Wednesday. With 21 points, CJ McCollum was the scoring leader in the losing effort.
Jonas Valanciunas was another standout performer with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Pelicans are the third seed in the Western Conference.
Orlando dropped a close one on Sunday at Ball Arena, falling to the Denver Nuggets 119-116. Markelle Fultz had 20 points, seven rebounds, and six assists in the loss, leading the team. The Magic are 13th in the Eastern Conference.
It’s the first meeting of the season between the teams. New Orleans and Orlando split their matchups last season, winning one game apiece. The Magic earned the win in the last meeting 108-102 at Smoothie King Center in March 2022. Cole Anthony led the Magic with 19 points.
McCollum had 32 points in defeat. McCollum is averaging 21.3 points per game to lead the Pels in scoring this season. McCollum also has dished 5.8 assists per game. Meanwhile, Valanciunas is grabbing 9.8 rebounds.
Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner have been the primary providers for the Magic on offense, averaging 21.1 and 20.3 points per game, respectively. Banchero also has tallied 3.8 assists per game. Bol Bol has posted 6.9 rebounds per game.
The teams have split their last 10 clashes at Amway Center (5-5).New Orleans is 3-7 in the last 10 games with an average margin of -5.0 (111.3-116.3). Orlando has also a 3-7 record over the last 10, allowing 118.1 points per game on average while scoring only 111.1 (-7.0 margin).
PELICANS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Jonas Valanciunas: 35.2 | 26.2 | +9.0
Herbert Jones: 5.0 | 15.8 | -10.8
Points per game:
Jonas Valanciunas: 22.6 | 14.8 | +7.8
Herbert Jones: 5.0 | 10.0 | -5.0
Rebounds per game:
Willy Hernangomez: 3.0 | 4.6 | -1.6
MAGIC HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Jalen Suggs: 10.8 | 17.6 | -6.7
Points per game:
Markelle Fultz: 15.6 | 12.2 | +3.4
Rebounds per game:
Bol Bol: 4.0 | 6.9 | -2.9
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
NO Pelicans (-135)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
