Who’s Playing

New Orleans @ Dallas

Current Records: New Orleans 24-15; Dallas 22-17

What to Know

The New Orleans Pelicans have enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they must head out on the road. New Orleans and the Dallas Mavericks will face off in a Southwest Division battle at 8 p.m. ET Saturday at American Airlines Center. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they’ll have plenty of motivation to get the ‘W.’

The Pelicans were within striking distance but couldn’t close the gap on Friday as they fell 108-102 to the Brooklyn Nets. New Orleans’ defeat shouldn’t obscure the performances of small forward Naji Marshall, who had 23 points along with nine boards, and point guard CJ McCollum, who had 28 points and six assists in addition to six rebounds.

Meanwhile, 2023 “welcomed” Dallas with a 124-95 beatdown courtesy of the Boston Celtics on Thursday. Dallas was down 89-65 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from. Shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. had a pretty forgettable game, finishing with only eight points on 2-for-11 shooting in his 36 minutes on the court.

New Orleans is expected to lose this next one by 7. Those betting on them against the spread shouldn’t have high expectations for them since the team is 1-6 ATS when expected to lose.

The losses put the Pelicans at 24-15 and the Mavericks at 22-17. A pair of numbers to keep in mind before tip-off: New Orleans ranks second in the league when it comes to steals per game, with 8.56 on average. But Dallas comes into the matchup boasting the third fewest steals given up per game in the league at 6.1. Ball control might end up being a major factor in this one.

How To Watch

• When: Saturday at 8 p.m. ET
• Where: American Airlines Center — Dallas, Texas
• TV: Bally Sports – New Orleans
• Follow: CBS Sports App
• Ticket Cost: $76.99

Odds

The Mavericks are a solid 7-point favorite against the Pelicans, according to the latest NBA odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 7-point spread, and stayed right there.

Over/Under: -110

See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.

Series History

Dallas have won 15 out of their last 28 games against New Orleans.

• Oct 25, 2022 – New Orleans 113 vs. Dallas 111
• Feb 17, 2022 – Dallas 125 vs. New Orleans 118
• Dec 03, 2021 – New Orleans 107 vs. Dallas 91
• Dec 01, 2021 – Dallas 139 vs. New Orleans 107
• Nov 08, 2021 – Dallas 108 vs. New Orleans 92
• May 12, 2021 – Dallas 125 vs. New Orleans 107
• Mar 27, 2021 – New Orleans 112 vs. Dallas 103
• Feb 12, 2021 – Dallas 143 vs. New Orleans 130
• Mar 04, 2020 – Dallas 127 vs. New Orleans 123
• Dec 07, 2019 – Dallas 130 vs. New Orleans 84
• Dec 03, 2019 – Dallas 118 vs. New Orleans 97
• Oct 25, 2019 – Dallas 123 vs. New Orleans 116
• Mar 18, 2019 – New Orleans 129 vs. Dallas 125
• Dec 28, 2018 – New Orleans 114 vs. Dallas 112
• Dec 26, 2018 – Dallas 122 vs. New Orleans 119
• Dec 05, 2018 – New Orleans 132 vs. Dallas 106
• Mar 20, 2018 – New Orleans 115 vs. Dallas 105
• Mar 04, 2018 – New Orleans 126 vs. Dallas 109
• Dec 29, 2017 – Dallas 128 vs. New Orleans 120
• Nov 03, 2017 – New Orleans 99 vs. Dallas 94
• Mar 29, 2017 – New Orleans 121 vs. Dallas 118
• Feb 25, 2017 – Dallas 96 vs. New Orleans 83
• Dec 26, 2016 – New Orleans 111 vs. Dallas 104
• Nov 27, 2016 – Dallas 91 vs. New Orleans 81
• Jan 06, 2016 – Dallas 100 vs. New Orleans 91
• Jan 02, 2016 – New Orleans 105 vs. Dallas 98
• Nov 10, 2015 – New Orleans 120 vs. Dallas 105
• Nov 07, 2015 – Dallas 107 vs. New Orleans 98