The No. 1 seed Phoenix Suns (2-1) play the No. 8 seed New Orleans Pelicans (1-2) Sunday in the Smoothie King Center at 9:30 p.m. ET for Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series. Below, we look at the Suns vs. Pelicans odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Friday’s Game 3 saw a vintage Chris Paul performance where the likely Hall of Famer put up 28 points (10-for-18 FG, 7-for-8 FT) with 14 assists in Phoenix’s 114-111 victory.
Suns C Deandre Ayton outscored Pelicans C Jonas Valančiūnas 28-6, outshooting him 65.0% to -20.0% and outrebounding him 17-7.
NOLA’s two leading scorers in this series — SG C.J. McCollum and SF Brandon Ingram — held up their ends of the bargain in Game 3 by combining for 64 points on 52.4% shooting (7-for-17 from behind the arc).
Suns at Pelicans odds and lines
- Money line (ML): Suns -135 (bet $140 to win $100) | Pelicans +115 (bet $100 to win $115)
- Against the spread: Suns -2.5 (-110) | Pelicans +2.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 214.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)
Suns at Pelicans key injuries
Suns
- SG Devin Booker (hamstring) out
Pelicans
- None
Suns at Pelicans picks and predictions
Prediction
Pelicans 107, Suns 103
Money line
LEAN PELICANS (+115) because I’d prefer to take any points I can get with NOLA, because if the Pelicans can do a little better versus the Suns’ pick-and-roll this series will be even heading back to Phoenix for Game 5.
NOLA is nearly doubling Phoenix’s rebounding rate for this series and the Suns won a seesaw Game 3 despite shooting just 15.4% from 3-point land. It’s hard winning in today’s NBA shooting that poorly from behind the arc.
If CP3 or Ayton’s production tails off a smidge, Game 4 will be very winnable for the Pelicans especially since role players shoot better at home and a loss Sunday would put NOLA’s season on the brink.
However, CP3 has a knack for rising to the occasion in clutch moments so the Suns could certainly eke this game out hence the LEAN PELICANS (+115).