Pelicans Open As Slight Favorite To Prevail Over Visiting Clippers

Brandon Ingram of New Orleans Pelicans — Brandon Ingram will lead the way once more for the Pels as they ramp up their postseason chances. Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

KEY POINTS

The Clippers will try to make it three wins in a row when they visit the Pelicans Saturday
The Pelicans need another win to improve their NBA playoff chances
Brandon Ingram is expected to lead the Pels anew and sustain his impressive string of performances

The Los Angeles Clippers will go for their third straight win when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center Saturday.

With the NBA regular season winding down, both teams are trying to win as many games as possible to improve their postseason standings. Between both teams, a win is more essential to the Pels, which are currently in the eighth spot of the Western Conference.

Oddsmakers picked the Pelicans as -2.5 spread favorites to prevail over the Clippers, which are running fifth in the Western Conference. According to Oddsshark, the moneyline for this matchup is -135 for New Orleans and +114 for Los Angeles.

The Pelicans are coming off a 107-88 win over Western Conference rival Denver Nuggets and will try to make it two in a row this Saturday. The Nuggets were without star player Nikola Jokic during Thursday's game.

In that game, Brandon Ingram led the way with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Backing him up was CJ McCollum, who poured in 23 markers. Jonas Valanciunas and Trey Murphy III chipped in 15 points each.

"He's playing at a high level," New Orleans coach Willie Green said Thursday about Ingram's recent stellar play, according to ESPN. "Everybody's getting the opportunity to see him display his game and we're putting the ball in his hands a lot more, allowing him to be a playmaker."

The Clippers, on the other hand, are looking to make it three straight wins. They are coming off a 141-132 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, with Russell Westbrook exploding for 36 points during Wednesday's matchup.

"As a point guard, I was taught the last five or six minutes of the game were very important. Getting stops, getting good shots. We did a good job of executing down the stretch," Westbrook said after that game, as quoted by ESPN.

Westbrook also issued 10 assists and hauled down four rebounds.

Robert Covington, coming off the bench, added 27 points and four rebounds, while Bones Hyland had 20 markers.

The Clippers and the Pelicans get ready for an interesting showdown Saturday, with game time set for 8:30 p.m. EDT. The match will be telecast over BSNO and KTLA, with live streaming also available via NBA League Pass.