Phoenix Suns at New Orleans Pelicans - 4/28/22 NBA Picks and Prediction

New Orleans Pelicans (40-49) vs Phoenix Suns (67-20)

Game Info: Thursday, April 28, 2022 at 7:30 pm (Smoothie King Center)

Betting Odds: New Orleans Pelicans +2.5 -- Over/Under: 215 Click Here for the Latest Odds

The Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Pelicans collide in a pivotal Game 6 at the Smoothie King Center on Thursday night.

The Phoenix Suns will be looking to book their tickets to the second round after blowing past the Pelicans in a 112-97 win in Game 5 on Tuesday. Mikal Bridges led the team with a breakout game of 31 points with four blocks on 12 of 17 shooting, Chris Paul tallied 22 points with six rebounds and 11 assists while DeAndre Ayton chipped in with 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists. As a team, the Suns shot 50 percent from the field and 10 of 27 from the 3-point line as they jumped all over the Pelicans right from the start and held them to just 20 points in the first quarter to take the 13-point lead into halftime, which ballooned to 18 points in the third quarter as the Suns were able to cruise in this one.

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans will be looking to stave off elimination after a slow start cost them a chance to take the lead on Tuesday. Brandon Ingram led the team with 22 points, five rebounds and five assists, CJ McCollum added 21 points with eight rebounds and five assists while Jonas Valanciunas chipped in with 17 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. As a team, the Pelicans shot just 40 percent from the field and a miserly five of 25 from the 3-point line as they failed to match the energy of the Suns coming out of the gates and were always fighting an uphill battle after falling behind big early. Jose Alverado provided a spark off the bench with 12 points and two steals but they needed more from McCollum who drained just one of eight from the 3-point line as he didn’t heat up till the game was lost.

Get the BEST EXPERT PICKS From Top Handicappers

Looking at the betting trends, the Suns are 1-5 ATS in their last six games as a road favorite and 2-7 ATS in their last nine games playing on one days’ rest. The Pelicans are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games as an underdog, 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games against a team with a winning record and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall.

Head to head, the over is 13-3 in the last 16 meetings in New Orleans, the Suns are 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings overall and the Suns are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings in New Orleans.

The Suns were able to reclaim the series lead without too much trouble as they were always in control after taking the early lead thanks to a hot start from CP3 and a big second half from Bridges. The Pelicans looked like a different team to the one that beat the Suns in Game 4 as they couldn’t find their rhythm till they were behind by double-digits. The Pelicans have already surprised the Suns a couple times in this series and I expect them to come out firing in this one, but with the line so short, I’m leaning towards the Suns to finish the job in this spot behind a big game from Ayton or CP3.

Risk Free Bets, Free Bets and Deposit Bonuses CLICK HERE!!!!