Oklahoma City Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/29/2024

Game Time: 8:30 pm ET, Monday, April 29, 2024

Venue:  Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA 

Where to Watch:  NBA TV

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Thunder -4, Pelicans +4; Over/Under:  205 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Thunder -4.5, Pelicans +4.5; Over/Under:  205 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Thunder -4.5, Pelicans +4.5; Over/Under:  206.5 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:  8-2 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 an 8 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 3 games. In their last game against the Pelicans in game 3 of this series, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team in points in that game with 24 while Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey each were next on the team with 21 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team in assists in that game with 8 while Jalen Williams led the team in rebounds with 9. They were 48.2% from the field, 47.2% from 3-point range, and 69.2% 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 48-36-1 this season and their O/U record is 45-37-3.

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 3 game losing streak with losses coming against the Oklahoma City Thunder in their last 3 games. In their last game against the Thunder in game 3 of this series, Brandon Ingram led the team in points in that game with 19 while CJ McCollum was next on the team with 16 points. CJ McCollum led the team in assists in that game with 7 while Larry Nance Jr. led the team in rebounds with 13. They were 38.1% from the field, 28.1% from 3-point range, and 85.7% 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 46-40-1 this season and their O/U record is 37-49-1.

The current betting odds have the Thunder listed as a 4 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 4 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 3-0 series lead after winning game 3 of this series on the road. The Thunder struggled against the Pelicans to win game 1 on their home court but they found a way to grind it out with a 2 point win. Since game 1, the Thunder have readjusted to the Pelicans and they have looked a lot better in the last 2 games. The Thunder now have the Pelicans on the verge of elimination here and the last 2 games in this series haven't even been close, including game 3 which was in New Orleans. The Pelicans are still going to be without Zion Williamson in this game and even though they have shown all season that they can win games without, it still doesn't help that a talented player like that in their starting lineup is out for this game. The Pelicans have no answer for the Thunder in this series and the Thunder are showing everyone why they deserve to be the number 1 seed in the West. The Thunder are going to be motivated in this game with a chance to pull off a sweep and the Pelicans aren't really a team that has given them trouble this season. 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 Monday, April 29, 2024 (8:30 pm ET start time) is Thunder 114 Pelicans 92.

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Oklahoma City Thunder: 16-3 ATS off a road win by 10 points or more. 28-19 ATS after a game where they covered the spread. 30-14 ATS after allowing 100 points or less. 10-4 UNDER as a # 1 seed in the playoffs. 19-5 UNDER off a road win. 6-0 UNDER off a road blowout win by 20 points or more.

New Orleans Pelicans: 3-9 ATS after scoring 100 points or less. 3-11 ATS after a combined score of 205 points or less. 18-24 ATS after a blowout loss by 15 points or more. 20-11 UNDER after 3 or more consecutive losses. 13-4 UNDER after scoring 95 points or less. 13-6 UNDER after 2 straight losses by 10 points or more.

Oklahoma City Thunder:  None.

New Orleans Pelicans:  J. Robinson-Earl (PF) Ques Mon - Ankle. Z. Williamson (PF) Early May - Hamstring.

“We were ready to play. Our physicality again, our defense and focus on that end of the floor was really, really good, made them earn everything. And I thought that set the tone.” - Mark Daigneault after his team’s win against the Pelicans in game 3 of this series on Saturday.

“It’s not over. Look, we’ve got another game here at home and we’re not going to fix all of our issues tonight. Go home, have a good meal and we’ll come back (Sunday) and practice and go over what we need to do and get ready for the next game.” - Willie Green after his team’s loss against the OKC Thunder in game 3 of this series on Saturday.

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)