The New Orleans Pelicans travel to the Ball Arena to do battle with the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.
The New Orleans Pelicans have been in great form as they were riding a five-game win streak before they got stopped in their tracks by the Warriors in a 120-109 road loss on Tuesday. Brandon Ingram led the team with 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Trey Murphy added 21 points on six of nine shooting while CJ McCollum chipped I with 15 points. As a team, the Pelicans shot 46 percent from the field and 12 of 27 from the 3-point line as they jumped all over the Warriors early on and poured on 63 points the first half to build a 20-point lead, only to get run down in the second half where they got outscored by 74-46 to lose by double digits in the end.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have been in pretty good shape as they’ve won five of their last six games overall and they will be eager to build on their current four-game win streak after sneaking past the 76ers in a 116-111 win on Monday. Nikola Jokic led the way with a triple-double of 25 points with 17 rebounds and 12 assists, Jamal Murray added 19 points with seven assists while Bruce Brown chipped in with 18 points and five assists off the bench. As a team, the Nuggets shot 50 percent from the field and 11 of 32 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with their defense by holding the 76ers to just 18 points in the first quarter and building a 22-point lead which was just enough to hold off a late charge from the 76ers in the fourth quarter.
Looking at the betting trends, the Pelicans are 9-19 ATS in their last 28 road games, 6-16 ATS in their last 22 games against a team with a winning record and 5-1 ATS in their last six games overall. The Nuggets are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games, 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games playing on two days rest and 0-4 ATS in their last four games overall.
Head to head, the under is 9-3 in the last 12 meetings overall and the Pelicans are 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings in Denver.
The Pelicans are still missing Zion Williamson and Jose Alvarado, while the Nuggets are keeping eyes on Nikola Jokic, Peyton Watson and Vlatko Cancar who are all listed as questionable. The Pelicans came to life with five wins on the trot and they were close to keeping the win streak alive against the Warriors on Tuesday, while the Nuggets have continued to pile on the wins and they would’ve taken plenty of confidence from their narrow win over the 76ers in their last outing. It’s hard to split these two teams at the moment, but the Nuggets are well-rested and they are deserved favorites in this one, even with an injury cloud hanging over their best player. Give me the Nuggets to pull away in the second half for the win and cover.