Who's Playing
Orlando @ New Orleans
Current Records: Orlando 16-31; New Orleans 21-25
What to Know
The New Orleans Pelicans are 2-8 against the Orlando Magic since November of 2015, but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit Thursday. New Orleans will take on Orlando at 8 p.m. ET at Smoothie King Center after having had a few days off. If the contest is anything like the Magic's 133-127 victory from their previous meeting in August of last year, the scorekeeper will be kept real busy.
The Pelicans didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup with the Boston Celtics on Monday, but they still walked away with a 115-109 win. New Orleans' power forward Zion Williamson did his thing and had 28 points in addition to eight boards.
Meanwhile, Orlando was able to grind out a solid win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, winning 103-96. The win came about thanks to a strong surge after the half to overcome a 51-37 deficit. Power forward Chuma Okeke (18 points) was the top scorer for Orlando.
The Pelicans are the favorite in this one, with an expected 10-point margin of victory. They are currently two-for-two against the spread in their most recent games, a trend bettors might want to take into account.
The wins brought New Orleans up to 21-25 and the Magic to 16-31. A couple offensive stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: New Orleans enters the game with a 48.70% field goal percentage, good for third best in the league. On the other end of the spectrum, Orlando has only been able to knock down 43.10% percent of their shots, which is the lowest field goal percentage in the league. We'll see if New Orleans' 5.60% advantage translates to a win.
How To Watch
- When: Thursday at 8 p.m. ET
- Where: Smoothie King Center -- New Orleans, Louisiana
- TV: Bally Sports Florida
- Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds
The Pelicans are a big 10-point favorite against the Magic, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Pelicans as a 10.5-point favorite.
Over/Under: -111
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Series History
Orlando have won eight out of their last ten games against New Orleans.
- Aug 13, 2020 - Orlando 133 vs. New Orleans 127
- Dec 15, 2019 - Orlando 130 vs. New Orleans 119
- Mar 20, 2019 - Orlando 119 vs. New Orleans 96
- Feb 12, 2019 - Orlando 118 vs. New Orleans 88
- Dec 22, 2017 - New Orleans 111 vs. Orlando 97
- Oct 30, 2017 - Orlando 115 vs. New Orleans 99
- Jan 18, 2017 - New Orleans 118 vs. Orlando 98
- Nov 16, 2016 - Orlando 89 vs. New Orleans 82
- Dec 28, 2015 - Orlando 104 vs. New Orleans 89
- Nov 03, 2015 - Orlando 103 vs. New Orleans 94
