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USA TODAY Sports

The Orlando Magic will host the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday's NBA schedule in a matchup of current No. 5 seeds in their respective conferences. Orlando is 41-28 overall and 24-9 at home, while New Orleans is 42-26 overall and 22-13 on the road. This is their first meeting this season, but Orlando has won the last three matchups. The Magic are 46-23 against the spread in the 2023-24 NBA season, while the Pelicans are 39-28-1 versus the line.

Tip-off is at 7 p.m. ET at the Kia Center in Orlando, Fla. New Orleans is favored by 3 points in the latest Magic vs. Pelicans odds, per SportsLine consensus, and the over/under is 207.5 points. Before entering any Pelicans vs. Magic picks, you'll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 22 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 74-48 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning nearly $2,400. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.

The model has set its sights on New Orleans vs. Orlando. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA odds and betting lines for Pelicans vs. Magic:

  • Magic vs. Pelicans spread: Magic +3
  • Magic vs. Pelicans over/under: 207.5 points
  • Magic vs. Pelicans money line: Magic: +122, Pelicans: -145
  • Magic vs. Pelicans picks: See picks at SportsLine

What you need to know about the Magic

The Magic waltzed into their game on Tuesday with three straight wins but they left with four. Everything went their way against the Charlotte Hornets as Orlando made off with a 112-92 win. Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs were among the main playmakers for the Magic as the former scored 21 points with six rebounds, while the latter had 16 points, six assists and three steals.

With 41 wins on the season, Orlando has not only clinched a non-losing season for the first time in five years, but it also clinched at least a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament. It has its sights set on something greater than that, and as the current fifth seed in the East, Orlando is in line to make the playoffs and avoid the play-in tournament altogether. The defense has keyed Orlando's resurgence as it ranks third in both scoring defense and defensive rating. On offense, Paolo Banchero (22.7 points per game) and Franz Wagner (19.9 ppg) lead the way on a team in which the five leading scorers are all 24 years old or younger. See which team to pick here.

What you need to know about the Pelicans

Even though the Pelicans have not done well against the Brooklyn Nets recently (they were 2-8 in their previous 10 matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. New Orleans came out on top against the Nets by a score of 104-91. The Pelicans can attribute much of their success to Zion Williamson, who scored 28 points with seven rebounds. Williamson hasn't dropped below 26 points for five straight games.

With 42 wins, New Orleans has already matched last season's total, and it's tied for its most wins since the 2017-18 season. The Pelicans have great balance on both ends of the floor as they're just one of three teams ranking in the top eight in both offensive and defensive rating. The Pelicans are 7-1 ATS over their last eight games overall, and they have covered in each of their last four road games. See which team to pick here.

Key Betting Info

The Pelicans will be relying on another big game from Williamson to pull off a win. This year, Williamson has averaged 22.7 points, 5 assists, and 5.8 rebounds.

Some of the betting trends to consider are:

  • The Magic are 23-9 against the spread in their last 32 games when at home.
  • The Magic are 39-17 against the spread in their last 56 games after a day off.
  • The Pelicans are 10-8 against the spread in their last 18 games when favored on the road.

How to make Magic vs. Pelicans picks

The model has simulated Pelicans vs. Magic 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over, and it's also generated a point-spread pick where one side hits in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Magic vs. Pelicans, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Pelicans vs. Magic spread you need to jump on, all from the model on a 74-48 roll on top-rated NBA picks this season, and find out.