Halftime Report
Down seven at the end of the first quarter, the Pelicans now have the lead. After two quarters, neither team has the match in the bag, but the Pelicans lead 60-57 over the Bulls.
The Pelicans came into the game with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We'll see if they're able to flip the script or if it'll just be more of the same.
Who's Playing
Chicago Bulls @ New Orleans Pelicans
Current Records: Chicago 26-30, New Orleans 34-23
How To Watch
- When: Sunday, February 25, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Smoothie King Center -- New Orleans, Louisiana
- TV: Bally Sports - New Orleans
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $6.00
What to Know
The New Orleans Pelicans will stay at home for another game and welcome the Chicago Bulls at 7:00 p.m. ET on February 25th at Smoothie King Center. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
The point spread may have favored the Pelicans last Friday, but the final result did not. They fell 106-95 to Miami. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for the Pelicans in their matchups with the Heat: they've now lost seven in a row.
Even though they lost, the Pelicans smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. This was only their third loss (out of eight games) when they hit their own glass that hard.
Meanwhile, it's hard to win when you make 13 fewer threes than your opponent, a fact the Bulls found out the hard way on Thursday. They took a 129-112 bruising from Boston. The Bulls have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
New Orleans' defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 34-23. As for Chicago, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 26-30 record this season.
Sunday's match is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: The Pelicans haven't given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 12.6 turnovers per game. However, it's not like the Bulls (currently ranked third in turnovers per game) struggle in that department as they've been averaging only 11.8 turnovers per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Looking forward, the Pelicans are the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 3.5 points. This contest will be their seventh straight as the favorites (so far over this stretch they are 2-4 against the spread).
Odds
New Orleans is a 3.5-point favorite against Chicago, 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 2.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 222 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
New Orleans has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Chicago.
- Dec 02, 2023 - Chicago 124 vs. New Orleans 118
- Nov 16, 2022 - New Orleans 124 vs. Chicago 110
- Nov 09, 2022 - New Orleans 115 vs. Chicago 111
- Mar 24, 2022 - New Orleans 126 vs. Chicago 109
- Oct 22, 2021 - Chicago 128 vs. New Orleans 112
- Mar 03, 2021 - Chicago 128 vs. New Orleans 124
- Feb 10, 2021 - Chicago 129 vs. New Orleans 116
- Feb 06, 2020 - New Orleans 125 vs. Chicago 119
- Jan 08, 2020 - New Orleans 123 vs. Chicago 108
- Feb 06, 2019 - New Orleans 125 vs. Chicago 120