Nuggets vs Pelicans Game Breakdown

Get ready to rumble in the Big Easy as the Denver Nuggets, sitting comfortably in the upper echelon of the Western Conference, roll into the Smoothie King Center to face off against the underdog New Orleans Pelicans. Tonight’s clash at 08:00 PM EST promises to be a spectacle, especially with the Nuggets aiming to bounce back from a nail-biter against Portland and the Pelicans hungry to improve after their recent stumble against the Knicks. With the stakes sky-high and the point spread even higher, this first round playoff game is set to shake up what’s been a series of one-sided showdowns. So, will the Nuggets mine victory, or can the Pelicans take flight against the odds? Tune in as we dive into what’s shaping up to be a showdown sprinkled with a dash of Cajun spice!

Game Breakdown

Game Time: December 22, 2024 08:00PM EST

Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans

Vegas Odds

	DEN ML	NOP ML	Over/Under	Line
Open	-400	+300	233.0	-9.0/9.0
Recent	-280	+230	231.0	-10.0/10.0
Difference	+120	-70	-2.0	–

Team Performance

LAST 10

4W-6L

AWAY

27W-23L

73.7% Win Probability

LAST 10

1W-9L

HOME

24W-25L

26.3% Win Probability

Previous Matchups

Date		Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	OT	Final	O/U
11/15/24	Denver Nuggets DEN	22	32	18	22	00	94	Under
11/15/24	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	32	27	19	23	00	101	Under
01/12/24	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	25	26	29	33	00	113	Over
01/12/24	Denver Nuggets DEN	37	29	34	25	00	125	Over
11/17/23	Denver Nuggets DEN	28	25	33	24	00	110	Under
11/17/23	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	36	33	26	20	00	115	Under
11/06/23	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	27	44	21	24	00	116	Over
11/06/23	Denver Nuggets DEN	25	34	40	35	00	134	Over
03/30/23	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	21	29	32	25	00	107	Under
03/30/23	Denver Nuggets DEN	17	23	30	18	00	88	Under
01/31/23	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	35	25	24	29	00	113	Over
01/31/23	Denver Nuggets DEN	31	26	36	29	00	122	Over
01/24/23	Denver Nuggets DEN	28	35	20	16	00	99	Under
01/24/23	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	24	23	27	24	00	98	Under
12/04/22	Denver Nuggets DEN	31	29	21	25	00	106	Under
12/04/22	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	27	32	28	34	00	121	Under
03/06/22	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	19	38	37	30	60	130	Over
03/06/22	Denver Nuggets DEN	35	27	22	40	140	138	Over
02/04/22	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	27	24	31	31	00	113	Under
02/04/22	Denver Nuggets DEN	29	23	30	23	00	105	Under
01/28/22	Denver Nuggets DEN	26	24	36	30	00	116	Under
01/28/22	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	17	31	30	27	00	105	Under
12/08/21	Denver Nuggets DEN	35	29	16	25	150	120	Over
12/08/21	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	33	24	20	28	90	114	Over

Nuggets Vs Over/Under

Pelicans Vs Over/Under

Nuggets Recent Games

Date	vsOpp	Result	Reb	Ast	Tov	Shots
12/19	vs POR	124-126L	40	35	11	87
12/13	@ LAC	120-98W	46	23	21	77
12/08	vs ATL	141-111W	43	43	18	89
12/07	vs WAS	113-122L	48	34	15	94
12/05	vs CLE	114-126L	49	25	15	96
12/03	@ GSW	119-115W	38	32	15	79
12/01	vs LAC	122-126L	39	37	14	88
11/25	@ NYK	118-145L	33	23	11	92
11/23	vs LAL	127-102W	48	37	17	82
11/22	@ DAL	120-123L	42	33	13	90

Pelicans Recent Games

Date	vsOpp	Result	Reb	Ast	Tov	Shots
12/21	@ NYK	93-104L	45	23	19	83
12/19	vs HOU	113-133L	37	25	12	92
12/15	vs IND	104-119L	49	18	18	97
12/12	@ SAC	109-111L	43	22	17	83
12/08	vs SAS	116-121L	43	26	8	99
12/07	@ OKL	109-119L	35	25	18	79
12/05	@ PHX	126-124W	44	23	13	95
12/02	vs ATL	112-124L	41	21	16	100
12/01	vs NYK	85-118L	42	20	14	94
11/29	vs MEM	109-120L	46	16	14	91

Starting Lineups

Denver Nuggets	Proj	L5	L15	S%	S/DFS
Christian Braun SG	23.0	23.6	22.1	70%	27.3
Aaron Gordon PF	25.0	23.7	30.6	100%	30.4
Nikola Jokic C	59.0	66.3	64.5	100%	64.8
Jamal Murray PG	38.0	37.5	36.2	100%	36.5
Michael Porter Jr. SF	31.0	35.7	32.2	100%	32.6

New Orleans Pelicans	Proj	L5	L15	S%	S/DFS
Herbert Jones SF	29.0	26.6	24.1	100%	24.4
CJ McCollum SG	38.0	32.7	38.6	100%	39.0
Yves Missi C	32.0	28.9	24.8	77%	25.6
Trey Murphy III PF	38.0	36.8	33.0	93%	33.6
Dejounte Murray PG	45.0	40.3	45.5	100%	45.9

Nuggets Notable Injuries

Zeke Nnaji (C): Avg: 2.7pts, 1.8reb, 0.4ast, 8.6 minutes. Last game: 12/13/24. Impact: 0.3
Jalen Pickett (PG/SG): Avg: 1.6pts, 0.6reb, 0.9ast, 4.9 minutes. Last game: 12/13/24. Impact: 0.9
Trey Alexander (PG/SG): Avg: 1.0pts, 0.1reb, 0.3ast, 5.5 minutes. Last game: 12/08/24. Impact: 0.4
PJ Hall (C): Avg: 1.0pts, 0.2reb, 0.0ast, 2.3 minutes. Last game: 12/08/24. Impact: 0.3

Pelicans Notable Injuries

Brandon Ingram (PG): Avg: 20.8pts, 5.2reb, 5.5ast, 33.2 minutes. Last game: 12/07/24. Impact: 6.2
Trey Jemison (C): Avg: 5.2pts, 4.4reb, 0.8ast, 18.3 minutes. Last game: 12/19/24. Impact: 1.4

Top Player Props

This article, published more than 6 hours prior to game time, focuses exclusively on Over prop bets due to the propensity for NBA teams to make last-minute injury adjustments. For the most current prop bets, including any updates closer to tip-off, please refer to the link provided below the table.

		Stat				Over %				Opposing Defense/Game
Player	Team	Prop	Line	Proj	Diff	L5	L10	L15	L30	Opp	Stat	Rank
Dejounte Murray	NOP	Pts	18.5	22.4	+3.9	40%	40%	33%	33%	DEN	+1.0	#23
Herbert Jones	NOP	Pts	11.5	13.1	+1.6	60%	60%	53%	53%	DEN	+1.0	#23
Trey Murphy III	NOP	Reb	4.5	6.3	+1.8	60%	40%	47%	47%	DEN	+0.3	#23
Yves Missi	NOP	Reb	9.5	10.9	+1.4	80%	70%	60%	60%	DEN	+1.0	#25
Christian Braun	DEN	Ast	1.5	2.0	+0.5	20%	50%	67%	67%	NOP	+0.2	#19
CJ McCollum	NOP	Ast	4.5	4.6	+0.1	40%	40%	40%	40%	DEN	+2.2	#30