Who’s Playing

Houston @ New Orleans

Current Records: Houston 17-50; New Orleans 27-40

What to Know

This Sunday, the Houston Rockets are hoping to patch up the holes in a defense that has allowed an average of 118.04 points per matchup. Houston and the New Orleans Pelicans will face off in a Southwest Division battle at 7 p.m. ET Sunday at Smoothie King Center. The Rockets might not be the betting favorite, but it’s doubtful the players in their locker room care too much about that.

Houston ended up a good deal behind the Dallas Mavericks when they played this past Friday, losing 113-100. Houston was down 96-72 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from. One thing holding Houston back was the mediocre play of small forward Kenyon Martin Jr., who did not have his best game: he finished with 11 points on 5-for-13 shooting in his 30 minutes on the court.

Meanwhile, New Orleans has to be hurting after a devastating 142-120 defeat at the hands of the Charlotte Hornets this past Friday. Small forward Trey Murphy III put forth a good effort for the losing side as he shot 7-for-12 from beyond the arc and finished with 32 points and nine rebounds.

Both of these teams will be looking to put their recent losses behind them and walk away with a win. We’ll see which team satisfies their hunger and which team leaves with an empty stomach.

How To Watch

• When: Sunday at 7 p.m. ET
• Where: Smoothie King Center — New Orleans, Louisiana
• TV: ATTSN Southwest
• Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
• Follow: CBS Sports App
• Ticket Cost: $6.00

Odds

The Pelicans are a solid 5.5-point favorite against the Rockets, according to the latest NBA odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Pelicans as a 6-point favorite.

Over/Under: -110

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Series History

Houston have won 16 out of their last 26 games against New Orleans.

• Feb 08, 2022 – New Orleans 110 vs. Houston 97
• Feb 06, 2022 – New Orleans 120 vs. Houston 107
• Dec 05, 2021 – Houston 118 vs. New Orleans 108
• Apr 04, 2021 – New Orleans 122 vs. Houston 115
• Feb 09, 2021 – New Orleans 130 vs. Houston 101
• Jan 30, 2021 – Houston 126 vs. New Orleans 112
• Feb 02, 2020 – Houston 117 vs. New Orleans 109
• Dec 29, 2019 – New Orleans 127 vs. Houston 112
• Nov 11, 2019 – Houston 122 vs. New Orleans 116
• Oct 26, 2019 – Houston 126 vs. New Orleans 123
• Mar 24, 2019 – Houston 113 vs. New Orleans 90
• Jan 29, 2019 – New Orleans 121 vs. Houston 116
• Dec 29, 2018 – Houston 108 vs. New Orleans 104
• Oct 17, 2018 – New Orleans 131 vs. Houston 112
• Mar 24, 2018 – Houston 114 vs. New Orleans 91
• Mar 17, 2018 – Houston 107 vs. New Orleans 101
• Jan 26, 2018 – New Orleans 115 vs. Houston 113
• Dec 11, 2017 – Houston 130 vs. New Orleans 123
• Mar 24, 2017 – Houston 117 vs. New Orleans 107
• Mar 17, 2017 – New Orleans 128 vs. Houston 112
• Feb 23, 2017 – Houston 129 vs. New Orleans 99
• Dec 16, 2016 – Houston 122 vs. New Orleans 100
• Mar 02, 2016 – Houston 100 vs. New Orleans 95
• Jan 25, 2016 – Houston 112 vs. New Orleans 111
• Dec 26, 2015 – New Orleans 110 vs. Houston 108
• Dec 02, 2015 – Houston 108 vs. New Orleans 101