The New Orleans Pelicans head to Indianapolis on Saturday night to wrap up their regular-season series with the Indiana Pacers. Back in December, the Pelicans thrashed off the Pacers 120-98 as 1.5-point home favorites, recording their third win in the last five encounters with Indiana.
New Orleans has won four of its last six contests overall and continues to chase No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. On the other side, the Pacers are losing the pace with the top-four seeds in the East. They entered Friday’s clash against the Raptors on a three-game losing streak.
The Pelicans almost blew a 27-point lead in Chicago
New Orleans is coming off a 125-119 victory at the Chicago Bulls this past Thursday. The Pelicans had a 27-point lead with 4:36 to go in the third quarter, and they almost blew it down the stretch. New Orleans dominated Chicago offensively, shooting 56.3% from the field and 42.1% from beyond the arc. Zion Williamson had 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting from the field; Derrick Favors posted eight points and 15 rebounds, while J.J. Redick added 18 points and five assists off the bench.
“Obviously, he is a freak athlete, but he’s also very skillful,” Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball said of Zion Williamson. “You can give it to him on the break, post-ups, short rolls, so he can score in a lot of different ways. And that’s why it’s so hard to stop him.”
With healthy Zion Williamson, the Pelicans will try to sneak into the playoffs. New Orleans is 5.5 games behind the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, but the Pelicans have been playing very well lately, so they certainly stand a chance. Zion is averaging 19.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while making 57.4% of his field goals. Brandon Ingram (24.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG) tweaked his ankle on Thursday and is questionable to play against the Pacers. The Pelicans score 110.1 points per 100 possessions (16th in the league), allowing 112.1 points in a return (22nd).
The Pacers blew a 19-point lead in Toronto
Before they welcomed the Raptors on Friday night, the Pacers suffered a 119-118 defeat in Toronto this past Wednesday. Indiana led by as many as 19 points and had an 11-point lead with just 3:10 left on the clock in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough for the Pacers to upset the odds against the reigning champions. They turned the ball over a few times down the stretch and finished the game with nine turnovers more than the Raptors (19-10). Malcolm Brogdon led the way for Indiana with 24 points, six boards, and six dimes, while Domantas Sabonis posted a triple-double of 15 points, 11 boards, and 10 assists.
“It’s a tough loss, obviously, but there’s a lot of basketball left,” Pacers guard Victor Oladipo said. “We’ve just got to continue to keep getting better, keep getting stronger, and getting healthy as well. Everything else will take care of itself.”
After a narrow loss in Canada, the Pacers were sitting at the fifth spot of the Eastern Conference standings, half a game ahead of the sixth-seeded Philadelphia and three and a half games behind the third-seeded Miami. Indiana is scoring 110.9 points per 100 possessions (15th in the league) on 47.6% shooting from the field (3rd) and 37.1% from beyond the arc (5th). The Pacers are surrendering 108.4 points in a return (12th) on 44.9% shooting from the field (10th).
