Sacramento Kings (29-22) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (27-27)
February 5, 2023 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: New Orleans Pelicans -1.5; Over/Under: -
(Get latest betting odds)
The Sacramento Kings travel to the Smoothie King Center to take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night.
The Sacramento Kings have been in great form as they’ve won nine of their last 13 games overall, but they will be eager to bounce back here after falling just short to the Pacers in a 107-104 road loss on Friday. Harrison Barnes led the team with 23 points, Kevin Huerter added 16 points while Domantas Sabonis and Terrence Davis each scored 15 points. As a team, the Kings shot 43 percent from the field and 13 of 38 from the 3-point line as they got off to a sluggish start and scored just 21 points in the second quarter to trail by as many as 19 points which proved to be just too much to overcome as they could never reclaim the lead despite rallying in the second half.
Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been in terrible shape as they were mired in a 10-game losing streak before they stopped the rot with a 131-126 win over the Lakers last night. Brandon Ingram led the team with 35 points on 15 of 28 shooting, CJ McCollum added 23 points with seven assists while Trey Murphy chipped in with 21 points on seven of 12 shooting. As a team, the Pelicans shot 52 percent from the field and nine of 30 from the 3-point line as they struggled in the first half and leaked 40 points in the second quarter to fall behind by 12 points, but they stayed within striking distance and dominated the second half by 70-54 to earn the much-needed victory.
Looking at the betting trends, the Kings are 22-8-1 ATS in their last 31 games playing on one days rest, 5-2 ATS in their last seven road games and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games against a team with a losing record. The Pelicans are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games, 0-4 ATS in their last four games playing on zero days rest and 0-4 ATS in their last four games against a team with a winning record.
Head to head, the under is 4-1-1 in the last six meetings overall and the under is 3-0-1 in the last four meetings in New Orleans.
The Kings are shorthanded again as De’Aaron Fox has been ruled out due to personal reasons, while the Pelicans are still missing Zion Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas. The Pelicans were able to put it all together to beat the Lakers in a thrilling win last night, but it’s going to be tough to replicate that effort for the second night in a row. With that being said, I’ll stick with the Kings to get the win and cover in this spot.
