Game: Dallas Mavericks @ New Orleans Pelicans
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Odds: Mavericks -5, Pelicans +5
Total: 221
New Orleans could be without their two top players as they head into Tuesday night’s clash with the Dallas Mavericks. On Sunday night, the New Orleans Pelicans lost Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson to injuries and wound up losing their home debut.
Ingram was listed as having entered the concussion protocol on Monday. No specific comeback date for Ingram was given, and it was still unknown if Zion Williamson (bruised hip) would be able to play tonight. Williamson hit the ground hard in the fourth quarter. He didn’t come out of the game right away, but he was clearly not himself.
Pelicans head coach Willie Green said the Pelicans are “a little beat up” after the team’s practice on Monday. Starting forward Herbert Jones is also among the injured with a knee issue. New Orleans lost in overtime to Utah on Sunday.
Ingram was involved in a collision with teammate Naji Marshall in the second quarter of Sunday’s game. He was not entered into concussion protocol at that time. However, a couple of hours later, the team declared that the fifth-year NBA player had been added to the protocol.
Despite the absences, the Pelicans rallied from a 17-point fourth-quarter hole and were one defensive stop away from extending their unblemished streak to three games this season. The defense of New Orleans, which kept the Jazz scoreless for more than six minutes and gave up just five points in the final 7:25 of the fourth quarter, was the driving force behind the team’s comeback. C.J. McCollum scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Utah eventually scored the game-winning points with Kelly Olynyk’s driving basket with 3.1 seconds left in overtime.
In their home debut on Saturday, the Mavericks wasted no time in getting going. Dallas jumped out to a 39-17 lead after one quarter and cruised to a 137-96 victory over Memphis. Despite sitting out the fourth quarter with the victory already secured, Luka Doncic finished with 32 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds. Christian Wood added 25 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas. The Mavericks did a better job of holding onto a large lead than they did in their season opener when they blew a 22-point lead and lost to Phoenix, 107-105.
Dallas has owned the Pelicans in the head-to-head series. The Mavericks have won eight of the last ten games against New Orleans. Dallas is also 7-3 ATS in those ten games. Dallas is also 5-1 ATS in its last six trips to New Orleans.
The Pelicans would like to avoid another slow start. In their last 18 games played in October, New Orleans is just 4-14 SU. The Over is a trend for the Pelicans with seven of their last eight games going Over the total. The Over is also 5-1 in New Orleans’ last six home games. In the series against Dallas, the Over has hit in 12 of the last 18 games.
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