Who’s playing
Washington Wizards @ New Orleans Pelicans
Current records: Washington 6-25, New Orleans 5-29
How to watch
- When: Friday January 3, 2025 at 8 p.m. ET
- Or: Smoothie King Center – New Orleans, Louisiana
- TV: Gulf Coast Sports
- Follow: CBS Sports app
- Online broadcast: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket cost: $4.00
What you need to know
The Wizards have played four games at home but will soon have to dust off their jerseys on the road. They will face the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday at 8 p.m. ET at the Smoothie King Center. The Wizards pulled off a surprise victory in their last outing and will hope to pull it off once again against the 6.5-point favorite Pelicans.
The Wizards come into the match having completely beaten the Bulls: they dominated them in every quarter. The Wizards beat the Bulls 125-107 on Wednesday. This contest marked Washington’s most dominant victory of the season thus far.
The Wizards worked as a unit and finished the game with 36 assists. This is the most assists they have posted since December 2023.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans’ recent rough patch got a little tougher on Wednesday after their 11th straight loss. They took a 119-108 hit in the loss column at the hands of the Heat.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Trey Murphy III, who scored 34 points. Dejounte Murray, on the other hand, was considerably less useful: he went 0-5 from downtown.
Washington’s victory improved their record to 6-25. As for New Orleans, their loss dropped their record to 5-29.
The Wizards fell short against the Pelicans in their previous meeting in February 2024, losing 133-126. Can the Wizards avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We’ll know soon enough.
Odds
New Orleans is a solid 6.5-point favorite against Washington, according to the latest NBA Odds.
The line drifted a bit toward the Pelicans, as the game opened with the Pelicans as 4.5-point favorites.
The over/under is 231.5 points.
See NBA Pick for every game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get Picks Now.
History of the series
New Orleans has won 7 of its last 10 games against Washington.
- February 14, 2024 – New Orleans 133 vs. Washington 126
- December 13, 2023 – New Orleans 142 vs. Washington 122
- January 28, 2023 – Washington 113 vs. New Orleans 103
- January 9, 2023 – New Orleans 132 vs. Washington 112
- November 24, 2021 – New Orleans 127 vs. Washington 102
- November 15, 2021 – Washington 105 vs. New Orleans 100
- April 16, 2021 – Washington 117 vs. New Orleans 115
- January 27, 2021 – New Orleans 124 vs. Washington 106
- August 7, 2020 – New Orleans 118 vs. Washington 107
- November 28, 2018 – New Orleans 125 vs. Washington 104
