Pelicans vs. Thunder Betting Line

Carrie Stroup here with your Pelicans vs. Thunder betting line for Thursday night. Oklahoma City -12, Total: 218.5

NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (20-32) at OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (39-14)

Both the Pelicans and the Thunder will be hoping to enter the All-Star break on a high note when the teams meet in Oklahoma City on Thursday.

The Pelicans are finally playing some solid basketball and come into this game on a two-game winning streak both SU and ATS. New Orleans most recently hosted Utah and won 100-96 as a 1.5-point home favorite. The Pelicans were extremely efficient offensively in that game, shooting 47.6% from the field and turning the ball over just nine times. It was their fourth straight game with less than 10 turnovers and the team will need to continue taking care of the ball moving forward.

The Thunder, meanwhile, are coming off of a 122-106 victory as 12.5-point road favorites against the Suns on Monday. They have now won six of their past seven games and have been on fire offensively recently, shooting 45% or better in nine of their past 10 games.

These two teams met in November and the Thunder won that game 110-103 as 12.5-point home favorites. Yet, New Orleans has played Oklahoma City well over the years. The teams have split victories SU over the past three seasons, but the Pelicans are 5-3 ATS in those games. That includes a 3-1 ATS record when playing in Oklahoma City.

One trend favoring the Pelicans coming into this game is the fact that they are 28-15 ATS after having lost four or five of their past six games over the past two seasons. The Thunder, however, are 9-1 ATS in home games after a game where they made 12 or more threes over the past two seasons.

The Pelicans will be going for their third straight victory when they face the Thunder on Thursday and PF Anthony Davis (23.4 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 2.3 BPG) is going to need to have a big performance for his team in this one. Davis has been a force recently, averaging 27.4 PPG on 55.9% shooting from the field over the past five games. He is taking good shots and will need to keep it up against the Thunder. Davis does have a challenge in store for him in this one, as Serge Ibaka will likely be covering him. Davis will have an advantage in height and will need to find ways to get shots up over Ibaka. His rim protection will also be crucial for a Pelicans team that can struggle defensively.

Another player that will need to come to play for New Orleans is PG Jrue Holiday (14.9 PPG, 5.5 APG, 1.2 SPG). Holiday is going to be matched up with Russell Westbrook for a majority of this game and he’ll need to find a way to contain him defensively. If Holiday cannot prevent Westbrook from attacking the rim at will then it’ll be difficult for the Pelicans to win this one. Offensively, New Orleans will just need more of the same from Holiday. He’s averaging 24.0 PPG and 9.0 APG over the past two games and has shown some serious command of the offense. His ability to shoot the ball and find Davis around the basket makes him the perfect guy to be running this team.

The Thunder responded to a loss to the Warriors with a 122-106 victory over the Suns on Monday. The team will now be looking to go into the All-Star break on a winning note and one guy that should be able to help them do that is PG Russell Westbrook (24.1 PPG, 10.0 APG, 7.6 RPG, 2.4 SPG).

Westbrook is as explosive as any player in the league and should be extremely aggressive on Thursday night. The last time he faced the Pelicans, Westbrook finished the game with 43 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in 36 minutes of action. New Orleans had no match for him and he’ll need to attack the rim relentlessly in this one.

SF Kevin Durant (27.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.2 BPG, 1.0 SPG) will also need to have a big performance in this game and he should have no problem doing that. Over the past five games, Durant is averaging 34.0 PPG on 51.4% shooting from the field and 43.9% shooting from the outside. He is scorching hot and the Pelicans do not have any players with the length and speed to keep up with a guy that talented at his size.

The x-factor for Oklahoma City will be PF Serge Ibaka (12.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.2 BPG). Ibaka will be guarding Anthony Davis in this one and he can’t afford to let Davis go off. Ibaka is one of the best rim protectors in the league and he’ll need to do his job on Thursday.

- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter