Halftime Report
Down two at the end of the first quarter, the Pelicans now have the lead. After two quarters, neither squad has the matchup in the bag, but the Pelicans lead 55-53 over the Kings.
If the Pelicans keep playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 6-20 in no time. On the other hand, the Kings will have to make due with a 12-14 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who's Playing
Sacramento Kings @ New Orleans Pelicans
Current Records: Sacramento 12-13, New Orleans 5-20
How To Watch
- When: Thursday, December 12, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET
- Where: Smoothie King Center -- New Orleans, Louisiana
- TV: Gulf Coast Sports
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $1.98
What to Know
The Pelicans will be in front of their home fans on Thursday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-court advantage. They are set to face off against the Sacramento Kings at 8:00 p.m. ET at Smoothie King Center with a little bit of extra rest.
Last Sunday, the Pelicans were within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 121-116 to the Spurs. New Orleans has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
The Pelicans' defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Trey Murphy III, who posted 25 points plus six rebounds and five assists, and Yves Missi, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 14 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Missi a new career-high in offensive rebounds (nine).
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask the Kings). They steamrolled past the Jazz 141-97 on Sunday. Sacramento was heavily favored coming into this match, and the results showcase why.
The Kings got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Kevin Huerter out in front who went 6 for 9 from beyond the arc en route to 26 points plus five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Domantas Sabonis, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 12 rebounds.
The Kings were working as a unit and finished the game with 39 assists. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 24.5 assists per game earlier this season, but in their last five games they've averaged 31.2.
New Orleans' loss dropped their record down to 5-20. As for Sacramento, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 12-13 record this season.
The Pelicans were able to grind out a solid win over the Kings when the teams last played back in April, winning 105-98. Will the Pelicans repeat their success, or do the Kings have a better game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Odds
Sacramento is a solid 6.5-point favorite against New Orleans, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Kings as a 5.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 231.5 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
New Orleans has won 8 out of their last 10 games against Sacramento.
- Apr 19, 2024 - New Orleans 105 vs. Sacramento 98
- Apr 11, 2024 - New Orleans 135 vs. Sacramento 123
- Jan 07, 2024 - New Orleans 133 vs. Sacramento 100
- Dec 04, 2023 - New Orleans 127 vs. Sacramento 117
- Nov 22, 2023 - New Orleans 117 vs. Sacramento 112
- Nov 20, 2023 - New Orleans 129 vs. Sacramento 93
- Apr 04, 2023 - Sacramento 121 vs. New Orleans 103
- Mar 06, 2023 - Sacramento 123 vs. New Orleans 108
- Feb 05, 2023 - New Orleans 136 vs. Sacramento 104
- Apr 05, 2022 - New Orleans 123 vs. Sacramento 109
