New Orleans Pelicans (36-37) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (39-35)
March 25, 2023 10:30 pm EDT
The Line: Los Angeles Clippers -4.5; Over/Under: +225.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Clippers do battle at the Crpyto.com Arena on Saturday night.
The New Orleans Pelicans have been building nicely as they’ve won four of their last six games overall and they will be aiming for a fourth straight victory after routing the Hornets in a 115-96 win on Thursday. Brandon Ingram led the team with a triple-double of 30 points with 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Jonas Valanciunas and CJ McCollum added 20 points while Trey Murphy chipped in with 19 points. As a team, the Pelicans shot 45 percent from the field and 11 of 34 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 37 points in the first quarter, and they were able to stay in front until the fourth quarter where they held the Hornets to just 15 points to make it a blowout.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers have been in fine form as they’ve won six of their last eight games overall and they will be hoping to stay hot after routing the Thunder in a 127-105 home win on Thursday. Kawhi Leonard got off to a hot start and led the team with 32 points on 13 of 15 shooting, Russell Westbrook added 24 points with seven assists while Bones Hyland chipped in with 16 points and seven assists. As a team, the Clippers shot 56 percent from the field and 18 of 37 from the 3-point line as they wasted an early lead they built in the first quarter, before they dominated the second half by 73-51 to win big in the end.
Looking at the betting trends, the Pelicans are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 road games, 5-15 ATS in their last 20 games against a team with a winning record and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The Clippers are 5-1 ATS in their last six games against a team with a losing record, 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a win of more than 10 points and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games overall.
Head to head, the under is 5-1 in the last six meetings overall and the Pelicans are 39-17 ATS in the last 56 meetings overall.
The Pelicans are shorthanded again as Jose Alvarado and Zion Williamson are still out, while the Clippers are still missing Paul George and Norman Powell. The Pelicans are coming into this one with plenty of winning momentum, but those wins came against the lesser teams in the league, so I’m more impressed with the recent play of the Clippers, especially Leonard who barely missed in Thursday’s big win over the Clippers. This should be a close one, but I’m sticking with the Clippers to take care of business at home.
