The San Antonio Spurs (6-16, 3-8 Home) will try to slow down one of the league’s top scoring teams when they play host to the New Orleans Pelicans (13-8, 5-5 Away) on Friday. New Orleans blew out the Toronto Raptors 126-108 at Smoothie King Center on Wednesday. With 33 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, Zion Williamson led the way.
The Pelicans are two games behind the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference, currently sitting in third. San Antonio dropped their ninth in a row on Wednesday at Paycom Center, falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-111. Devin Vassell had 25 points and seven rebounds in the losing effort, carrying the team. The Spurs are the 14th seed in the Western Conference.
It’s the last meeting of the season between the teams. New Orleans will be aiming for a season sweep against San Antonio after earning the win in the only previous game 129-110 at AT&T Center on November 23. Williamson led the Pelicans with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Vassell had 26 points and eight assists in the loss.
Williamson and Brandon Ingram, averaging 23.1 and 20.8 points per game, respectively, are leading the Pels in scoring this season. Both are among the NBA’s top scorers, as Williamson is No. 1 and Ingram is first. Meanwhile, Jonas Valanciunas is grabbing 9.2 rebounds per game, most in the NBA, and CJ McCollum is dishing 6.1 assists (1st).
Vassell (20.6 ppg) and Keldon Johnson (20.3) have been the primary providers for the Spurs on offense. Vassell leads the NBA in scoring, while Johnson is first. Jakob Poeltl is pulling down 9.9 rebounds per game, most in the NBA, and Tre Jones is tallying 7.0 assists (1st).
The Pelicans rank as one of the top scoring offenses in the league, second-best with 117.1 points per game.The Spurs have had the advantage in the Pelicans’ last 10 visits to AT&T Center, winning seven.
San Antonio has dropped three in a row at home this season.New Orleans is 7-3 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +8.4 (115.9-107.5). San Antonio has a 1-9 record over the last 10, allowing 121.0 points per game on average while scoring only 107.0 (-14.0 margin).
PELICANS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Trey Murphy III: 27.7 | 18.7 | +8.9
CJ McCollum: 20.0 | 29.9 | -9.9
Points per game:
Trey Murphy III: 22.3 | 13.1 | +9.3
Rebounds per game:
Larry Nance Jr.: 2.8 | 5.3 | -2.5
Assists per game:
CJ McCollum: 2.0 | 6.1 | -4.1
SPURS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points per game:
Jakob Poeltl: 8.7 | 12.9 | -4.2
Rebounds per game:
Zach Collins: 7.0 | 5.3 | +1.8
Charles Bassey: 3.3 | 5.2 | -2.0
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
NO Pelicans (-275)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
