Who’s Playing
New Orleans Pelicans @ Los Angeles Lakers
Current Records: New Orleans 12-10, Los Angeles 13-9
How To Watch
- When: Thursday, December 7, 2023 at 9 p.m. ET
- Where: T-Mobile Arena — Las Vegas, Nevada
- TV: TNT
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select NBA matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $99.99
What to Know
The Pelicans and the Lakers are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2021, but not for long. The New Orleans Pelicans will head out on the road to face off against the Los Angeles Lakers at 9:00 p.m. ET on Thursday at T-Mobile Arena. The Pelicans pulled off an upset win in their last outing, and are hoping to pull that off once more against the 2-point favorite Lakers.
Last Monday, New Orleans earned a 127-117 victory over Sacramento. The Pelicans were down 32-17 with 4:27 left in the first quarter but they still came back for the handy ten-point win.
The Pelicans’ win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Brandon Ingram, who scored 30 points along with 8 rebounds and 6 assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Herbert Jones, who scored 23 points along with 5 assists and 5 rebounds.
Meanwhile, winning is just a little bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 21 to 8 on the offensive boards, a fact the Lakers proved on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged Phoenix out 106-103. Having forecasted a close win for the Lakers, the oddsmakers were right on the money.
Anthony Davis and LeBron James were among the main playmakers for the Lakers as the former dropped a double-double on 27 points and 15 rebounds and the latter dropped a double-double on 31 points and 11 assists. Davis is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he’s now pulled down ten or more in the last ten games he’s played.
New Orleans has been performing well recently as they’ve won three of their last four matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 12-10 record this season. As for Los Angeles, they have yet to lose a match at home this season, leaving them with a 13-9 record.
Thursday’s match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: The Pelicans have themselves a killer kicker this season, having nailed 48.2% of their shots per game. However, it’s not like the Lakers struggle in that department as they’ve made 48.3% of theirs this season. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check CBS Sports after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other NBA content.
The Pelicans ended up a good deal behind the Lakers in their previous meeting back in March, losing 123-108. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Lakers’ Davis, who dropped a double-double on 35 points and 17 rebounds. Now that the Pelicans knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There’s only one way to find out.
Odds
Los Angeles is a slight 2-point favorite against New Orleans, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 2-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is set at 229.5 points.
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Series History
Los Angeles and New Orleans both have 5 wins in their last 10 games.
- Mar 14, 2023 – Los Angeles 123 vs. New Orleans 108
- Feb 15, 2023 – Los Angeles 120 vs. New Orleans 102
- Feb 04, 2023 – New Orleans 131 vs. Los Angeles 126
- Nov 02, 2022 – Los Angeles 120 vs. New Orleans 117
- Apr 01, 2022 – New Orleans 114 vs. Los Angeles 111
- Mar 27, 2022 – New Orleans 116 vs. Los Angeles 108
- Feb 27, 2022 – New Orleans 123 vs. Los Angeles 95
- May 16, 2021 – Los Angeles 110 vs. New Orleans 98
- Mar 23, 2021 – New Orleans 128 vs. Los Angeles 111
- Jan 15, 2021 – Los Angeles 112 vs. New Orleans 95
