National Basketball Association

OKC Thunder vs. New Orleans Pelicans preview - 01/25/17

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:05 a.m. ET

Fansided, Chris Hughes/FanSided via Thunderous Intentions

Jan 23, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts during the second half against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Oklahoma City won 97-95. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Fresh off the back of their last-second winner against the Utah Jazz on Monday night, the OKC Thunder travel to New Orleans to face the Pelicans. Tip-off is 7:00 PM C.T.

Tonight’s game sees the OKC Thunder take on the New Orleans Pelicans in what will be the third match-up between the two sides this season. The former will go into the game with having won both so far, but it won’t be an easy win.

An Anthony Davis-less Pelicans side managed to overturn the Cleveland Cavaliers 124-122 in their last encounter, with both Jrue Holiday and Terrence Jones scoring over 30 points on the night.

However, Russell Westbrook took his triple-double total to 22 for the season in the win over Utah, and in doing so tied Larry Bird’s total of 59 career T-D’s.

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In doing so the Thunder improved their record to 26-19, and a positive result tonight could take them within 1.5 wins of the Jazz.

Meanwhile for New Orleans, a win tonight would take them within a shot of the eighth seed in the Western Conference, and they’ll want to take their chance, with their next game being the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.

The Thunder have seen their points average slowly lowering over recent weeks, with the figure now sitting at 106.1 per game. This means their plus/minus differential has also slipped, with it now being just 0.8.

That’s still better than the figures for the Pelicans however, who boast just 103.3 points per game on average, with an plus/minus of -2.8. Only nine teams have a worst differential.

Jan 18, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) talks to guard Buddy Hield (24) in the second half of their game against the Orlando Magic at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans won 118-98. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Recent Meetings

The Thunder and the Pelicans have already met twice this season, with the former having taken the W on both occasions.

Both match-ups came last month, with the first of the two being a 101-92 victory, whilst the latter was a high-scoring 121-110.

On the former, Russell Westbrook grabbed a triple-double that included 17 rebounds, whilst the game on December 21st saw the point guard grab a sizable 42 points.

When comparing the complete regular-season game log for the Thunder and the Pelicans, recent results fall in the favor of Oklahoma City. They’ve won four of the last five, and went on a ten-match winning streak against the Pelicans between 2010 and 2014.

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Key Players and Line-ups

After his return against the Jazz on Monday, the Thunder will again have Steven Adams in action, following the concussion he suffered against the Sacramento Kings. The big Kiwi proved his worth to the Thunder’s set up, as OKC lost both of the games he was forced to sit out of.

Meanwhile Westbrook will hope to move on from his All-Star starter snub, as he attempts to keep his 29.8 point average for the month of January up.

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The 28-year-old is still averaging a triple-double with the 50-game mark fast approaching. Moreover the point guard is adding 10.4 assists and 10.6 rebounds to his play.

However, Westbrook notched up 10 turnovers in the first match-up between the two teams this season, and whilst he only tallied four in the second game, it’s still an alarmingly high average.

Enes Kanter will continue to lead the second unit, as he hopes to keep up his stellar player efficiency rating of 24.67, which comes from an average of 19.6 points from 28.8 minutes of basketball since the turn of the year.

Predicted Starting Five:

Notable Substitutes: Enes Kanter (C, PF), Cameron Payne (PG).

With the fitness of Anthony Davis very much in the balance, it’s gonna take a serious effort for New Orleans to replicate their efforts against the Cavaliers.

If they do have their star power forward, they’ll have the highest scoring big man in the league among their starters. AD is averaging 28.6 points per game for the season, comfortably the most of any Pelicans player.

Jrue Holiday is the closest, with the point guard averaging just shy of 15 points per game, whilst adding a team-high 7.1 assists to his game as well. The 26-year-old is also leading his team in steals, with 1.4 a game.

Off the bench Terrence Jones will provide the biggest threat, and although he may of only started on seven occasions, he’s currently averaging 11.3 points and 6.1 rebounds, from 24.5 minutes of play.

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Predicted Starting Five

Notable Substitutes: Terrence Jones (PF), Tyreke Evans (SG), Dante Cunningham (PF) (*).

(*) – Anthony Davis may miss out again through injury, meaning Dante Cunningham will likely replace him, with the latter having started against the Cavaliers.

Jan 16, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (11) dribbles the ball in the first half of the game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Indiana Pacers beat New Orleans Pelicans 98-95.Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Injuries and Game Day Specifics