New Orleans Pelicans (16-28) vs. New York Knicks (22-23)
January 20, 2022 7:30 pm EDT
The Line: New York Knicks -2.5; Over/Under: +212
(Get latest betting odds)
The New Orleans Pelicans invade Madison Square Garden to battle the New York Knicks on Thursday night.
The New Orleans Pelicans have been in a real funk as they’ve lost six of their past nine games and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after getting routed by the Celtics in a 104-92 road loss on Monday. Jonas Valanciunas led the team with 22 points, 14 rebounds and four assists, Herbert Jones added 16 points while Brandon Ingram tallied 15 points with 10 rebounds and six assists. As a team, the Pelicans shot just 41 percent from the field and nine of 30 from the 3-point line as they got off to a quick start and led by as many as 18 points in the first quarter, but they couldn’t keep up the pace and got blown away in the second half by 65-46 as they had no answer for the Celtics’ starters. Devonte’ Graham had a night to forget as he scored just 11 points on four of 14 shooting.
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks have been in decent shape as they’ve won five of their past eight games overall, but they will be hoping to snap a two-game skid after falling painfully short to the Timberwolves in a 112-110 home loss on Tuesday. Evan Fournier led the team with 27 points on 10 of 17 shooting, Julius Randle added 21 points with nine rebounds and nine assists while Kemba Walker chipped in with 19 points. As a team, the Knicks shot 46 percent from the field and 12 of 38 from the 3-point line as they exploded for 40 points in the third quarter to rally back from an early 12-point deficit, only to go ice-cold in the fourth quarter where they managed just 19 points to allow the Timberwolves off the hook. The Knicks got next to nothing from their bench as no reserve player scored more than six points.
Looking at the betting trends, the Pelicans are 1-4 ATS in their last five road games, 1-5 ATS in their last six games playing on two days’ rest and 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a loss of more than 10 points. The Knicks are 6-1 ATS in their last seven home games, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record and 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall.
Head to head, the over is 4-0 in the last four meetings overall and the under is 13-6 in the last 19 meetings in New York.
The Pelicans will be sweating on the availability of Graham who is listed as questionable, while the Knicks will again be without Nerlens Noel who has been ruled out. The Pelicans are coming into this meeting in poor form and low on confidence after squandering an 18-point lead against the Celtics on Monday, while the Knicks will be kicking themselves after dropping a game they should’ve won on Tuesday. The Knicks have cooled off over the last two games, but they’re still the better team and should be good enough to get the win and cover with this short line.
