Houston Rockets (20-9, second in the Western Conference) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (5-25, 15th in the Western Conference)
New Orleans; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Rockets -8.5; over/under is 222.5
BOTTOM LINE: New Orleans heads into the matchup with Houston as losers of seven games in a row.
The Pelicans are 0-4 against division opponents. New Orleans gives up 117.2 points to opponents and has been outscored by 11.5 points per game.
The Rockets are 5-1 against the rest of their division. Houston ranks last in the Western Conference with just 22.6 assists per game led by Fred VanVleet averaging 6.0.
The Pelicans' 11.1 made 3-pointers per game this season are only 0.8 fewer made shots on average than the 11.9 per game the Rockets allow. The Rockets average 11.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.4 fewer made shots on average than the 14.2 per game the Pelicans give up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Yves Missi is scoring 9.7 points per game with 8.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists for the Pelicans.
VanVleet is scoring 14.9 points per game and averaging 4.4 rebounds for the Rockets.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pelicans: 1-9, averaging 109.6 points, 42.2 rebounds, 24.0 assists, 11.3 steals and 5.6 blocks per game while shooting 44.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 120.5 points per game.
Rockets: 7-3, averaging 111.0 points, 49.0 rebounds, 21.5 assists, 7.2 steals and 6.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.1 points.
INJURIES: Pelicans: Brandon Ingram: out (ankle), Zion Williamson: out (hamstring), Trey Murphy III: day to day (ankle), Karlo Matkovic: out (back), Jose Alvarado: day to day (hamstring).
Rockets: Dillon Brooks: day to day (ankle), Tari Eason: day to day (rest).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
