Dallas Mavericks vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 12/22/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Dallas Mavericks vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Monday, December 22, 2025

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Gulf Coast Sports

The Dallas Mavericks (11-17) are on their way to Smoothie King Center on Monday where they will go up against the New Orleans Pelicans (6-22).

The Mavericks faced off with the Pistons and earned the victory with a final of 116-114 in their last contest. In regard to fouls, the Mavericks finished with 21 and the Pistons recorded 27 fouls. They also knocked down 6 of their 33 attempts from beyond the arc. Detroit shot 70.0% from the charity stripe by making 14 of 20 tries. Additionally, Detroit collected 62 boards (26 offensive, 36 defensive) and earned 15 blocks. Detroit recorded 26 assists and had 11 steals in this contest. With regard to defending, Dallas allowed the other team to shoot 38.5% from the floor on 47 of 122 shooting. They also recorded 22 assists in the matchup while forcing 12 turnovers and having 4 steals. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they collected 51 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Mavericks converted 31 of 36 shots for a rate of 86.1%. Dallas finished the contest with a 44.9% FG percentage (40 of 89) and buried 5 of their 27 shots from beyond the arc.

Cooper Flagg is one guy who was important in this contest. He notched 23 points on 8 out of 20 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 40 minutes and collected 10 rebounds. Flagg shot 40.0% from the field and also dished out 4 assists.

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Dallas will play this contest with a record of 11-17 on the year. They are turning it over 15.5 times per game and as a group they are committing 20.8 personal fouls per game. As a team, Dallas is collecting 44.4 boards per game and is sitting with 698 dimes this year, which is 17th in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Mavericks are shooting 33.6% on shots from beyond the arc (317 of 943) and 75.7% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 113.0 pts per game (25th in the NBA) while going 46.0% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Mavericks are able to force 14.1 turnovers per game while drawing 22.3 personal fouls. They give up 32.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 17th in basketball in PPG allowed (116.7). The Mavericks defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 46.0% (1,200 of 2,611) and they concede 48.0 rebounds per game as a squad. They are ranked 18th in the NBA in giving up assists to their opponents with 724 conceded for the season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Pelicans took home the win by a final score of 133-128 against the Rockets. In reference to rebounding, New Orleans allowed Houston to get 58 in all (25 on the offensive side). They went 31.3% from distance by going 10 of 32 and finished the contest at 18 out of 27 at the free throw line (66.7%). The Pelicans permitted the Rockets to knock down 50 out of their 107 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 46.7% in this game. When the final whistle blew, the Pelicans finished shooting 49 for 97 from the field which gave them a rate of 50.5%. In terms of shooting from beyond the arc, New Orleans converted 11 out of 27 attempts (40.7%). They were able to convert 24 of those for a percentage of 85.7%. The Rockets were called for 21 fouls for the contest which took the Pelicans to the charity stripe for a total of 28 shots. They also gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while earning 15 steals in this game. The Pelicans earned 28 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive boards for a total of 41 for the matchup.

Saddiq Bey ended up having an impact for the Pelicans for the contest. He made 11 of 18 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 61.1%, and had 9 rebounds. Bey had 29 points in his 34 minutes on the hardwood and had 1 assist for the matchup.

New Orleans has a win-loss record of 6-22 for the year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Pelicans are shooting 46.3% from the floor, which ranks them 19th in the league. New Orleans has accumulated 3,216 pts so far this year (114.9 per game) and they pull in 42.9 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 24.8 times per contest (27th in basketball) and they turn it over 14.5 times per game. The Pelicans commit 20.6 personal fouls every game and they shoot 78.7% from the charity stripe.

The New Orleans defense allows 36.1% on three-point shots (422 of 1,168) and their opposition makes 80.7% of their foul shots. They have conceded 28.9 assists and 45.0 rebounds per game, which is 27th and 20th in basketball. The Pelicans are ranked 28th in the NBA in points given up per game with 123.0. They are forcing 15.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 49.1% from the field (28th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Dallas

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