NEW ORLEANS @ INDIANA (IND -6, 238)
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PELICANS VS. PACERS 2/28/24
The New Orleans Pelicans are killing it on the road. They have won six of their last seven away games, including the last three straight. With 11 road games left in the season, they have three more road victories than they did all of last season. New Orleans is currently 18–12 on the road in the 2023-24 season.
After defeating the Knicks 115-92 in New York on Tuesday, the Pelicans will look to maintain their winning streak when they play the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis tonight. After leading the exhausted Knicks by just one point at the break, New Orleans went on to outscore New York 67-45 in the second half.
New Orleans G Trey Murphy III tied a season high with six three-pointers made and scored a game-high 26 points. Murphy scored 16 points in the fourth quarter after starting in place of CJ McCollum who missed the game with an ankle injury. Murphy’s performance was a boost to New Orleans. Teams can’t focus as much on Zion Williamson, the Pelicans top scorer, and Brandon Ingram, their No. 2.
The Pacers lost to the Toronto Raptors 130-122 at home on Monday night after winning three straight games. Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton had an off game, and Indiana had little success stopping the Raptors. Haliburton hit 2-of-11 shots from the field, including just 1-of-6 from behind the arc to finish with only nine points.
In an attempt to fill the void left by Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin scored 34 points, matching a career high. Mathurin had the hot hand, hitting 11-of-15 shots from the floor. He hit 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. In the end, Indiana's lackluster offense was unable to overcome its subpar defense. The Raptors outscored the Pacers 78–50 in the paint. That was the difference.
The two teams will meet again on Friday in New Orleans, capping their two-game series. Indiana has beaten New Orleans 10 times in the Pelicans last 13 visits to Gaingridge Fieldhouse. The Pacers have won six of their last nine games, but they are just 4-5 ATS in those nine.
The Pelicans are 9-3 SU in their last 12 games and, despite the losing track record on the road at Indiana, New Orleans is 10-4-1 ATS in its last 15 games against the Pacers. The Under has cashed in five of the last seven Pelicans games and seven of its last eight on the road. The Pacers are the top-scoring team in the NBA and face a number of big totals. As a result, the Under is 5-2 in Indiana’s last seven games.
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