Oklahoma City Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/27/2024

Game Time: 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, April 27, 2024

Venue:  Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA 

Where to Watch:  TNT, MAX

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Thunder -1, Pelicans +1; Over/Under:  209.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Thunder -1, Pelicans +1; Over/Under:  209.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Thunder -1.5, Pelicans +1.5; Over/Under:  209.5 points

Oklahoma City Thunder:  57-25 (1st place, Northwest Division)

New Orleans Pelicans:  49-33 (2nd place, Southwest Division)

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Oklahoma City Thunder:  7-3 last 10

New Orleans Pelicans:  5-5 last 10

The Thunder are entering this game with a 57-25 record overall to finish the regular season and they were 24-17 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 7 game winning streak with wins coming against the Charlotte Hornets, the Sacramento Kings, the San Antonio Spurs, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the New Orleans Pelicans in their last 2 games. In their last game against the Pelicans in game 2 of this series, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team in points in that game with 33 while Chet Holmgren was next on the team with 26 points. Jalen Williams led the team in assists in that game with 7 while Chet Holmgren led the team in rebounds with 7. They were 59% from the field, 48.3% from 3-point range, and 90% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 120.1 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 112.7 PPG against them. The Thunder have an ATS record of 47-36-1 this season and their O/U record is 45-36-3.

The Pelicans are entering this game with a 49-33 record overall to finish the regular season and they were 21-19 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 2 game losing streak with losses coming against the Oklahoma City Thunder in their last 2 games. In their last game against the Thunder in game 2 of this series, Jonas Valančiūnas led the team in points in that game with 19 while Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones each were next on the team with 18 points. CJ McCollum led the team in assists in that game with 4 while Jonas Valančiūnas led the team in rebounds with 7. They were 45.2% from the field, 26.9% from 3-point range, and 90.5% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 115.1 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 110.7 PPG against them. The Pelicans have an ATS record of 46-39-1 this season and their O/U record is 37-48-1.

The current betting odds have the Thunder listed as a 1 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 3 of a 7 game series between the 1st seeded Thunder and the 8th seeded Pelicans for Round 1 of the NBA Western Conference playoffs. The Thunder have a 2-0 series lead after winning game 2 of this series on their home court. The Thunder didn't look great in game 1 of this series but they found a way to win that game at home by 2 points. Game 2 wasn't close at all though as the real Thunder showed up and led convincingly for the entire game, winning by over 30 points in the end. The Thunder are an inexperienced team when it comes to playoffs but they shook off their nerves from game 1 and looked like the number 1 seed they are supposed to be in game 2. They haven't been a bad road team this season with their 24-17 road record and they have been really hot coming into this one with 7 wins in a row now. Meanwhile, the Pelicans haven't looked great in their games lately with their 5-5 record in their last 10 games, and they also aren't as rested as the Thunder since they had to play in the play-in tournament. The Pelicans have even looked better in their road games this year, going 21-19 in their home games, and the Thunder aren't a team that they have had a ton of success against either. The Pelicans best shot at winning a game in this series was game 1 when they caught the Thunder by surprise. Now the Thunder have found their rhythm again in this series and they will be too much for the Pelicans to handle. The best way to place a bet here is on the Thunder to cover the spread in this game.

Thunder Pelicans Prediction:  Our NBA Pick for Saturday, April 27, 2024 (3:30 pm ET start time) is Thunder 117 Pelicans 102.

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Oklahoma City Thunder: 36-20 ATS against Southwest division opponents. 41-19 ATS after a win by 10 points or more. 29-14 ATS after allowing 100 points or less. 12-6 OVER as a road favorite of 6 points or less. 26-15 OVER off a home win by 10 points or more. 26-18 OVER after one or more consecutive overs.

New Orleans Pelicans: 2-9 ATS off a road blowout loss of 20 points or more. 15-25 ATS after scoring 100 points or less. 8-14 ATS revenging a road loss vs opponent. 63-38 OVER in a home game where the total is 210 to 219.5. 5-1 OVER revenging a blowout loss vs opponent of 20 points or more. 22-16 OVER after a game where they failed to cover the spread.

Oklahoma City Thunder:  None.

New Orleans Pelicans:  C. Zeller (PF) Ques Sat - Face. Z. Williamson (PF) Early May - Hamstring.

“Now, the challenge is to continue to grow and learn and improve with the series because the Pelicans are going to improve. They’re a good team that’s going home and they’re well coached. They’re going to get better. You know so we have to continue to get better.” - Mark Daigneault after his team’s win against the Pelicans in game 2 of this series on Wednesday.

“I thought they turned up the pressure offensively. They got some early 3's and that opened the floodgates up for them.” - Willie Green after his team’s loss against the OKC Thunder in game 2 of this series on Wednesday.

PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

SG Josh Giddey

SF Luguentz Dort

PF Jalen Williams

C Chet Holmgren

PG CJ McCollum

SG Brandon Ingram

SF Trey Murphy III

PF Herbert Jones

C Jonas Valanciunas

PPG: S. Gilgeous-Alexander (30.1)

APG: S. Gilgeous-Alexander (6.2)

Reb/G: C. Holmgren (7.9)

PPG: Z. Williamson (22.9)

APG: B. Ingram (5.7)

Reb/G: J. Valanciunas (8.8)

Coaches:

Oklahoma City Thunder: Mark Daigneault (4th season)

New Orleans Pelicans: Willie Green (3rd season)