Houston Rockets vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 12/18/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Houston Rockets vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Thursday, December 18, 2025

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Gulf Coast Sports

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (-10.5)

The New Orleans Pelicans (5-22) will try to defeat the Houston Rockets (16-7) at Smoothie King Center on Thursday. Houston opens as 10.5-point favorites. The total is 233.

The Rockets played the Nuggets and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 128-125 in their last contest. Concerning fouls, the Rockets finished with 25 and the Nuggets finished the game with 28 fouls. They made 15 of 34 attempts from distance. Denver ended up going 81.8% when shooting free throws by converting 27 of their 33 attempts. Additionally, Denver grabbed 38 boards (7 offensive, 31 defensive) and added 8 blocked shots. Denver doled out 24 assists and had 10 steals for the matchup. In reference to defending, Houston allowed the other team to shoot 50.6% from the floor on 43 of 85 shooting. They also doled out 29 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When talking about rebounding, they earned a total of 46 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Rockets made 19 of 26 tries for a rate of 73.1%. Houston finished the game having earned a 50.5% field goal percentage (47 out of 93) and converted 12 of their 25 shots from beyond the arc.

Alperen Sengun is one guy who was a major factor in the matchup. Sengun finished shooting 51.9% from the field and also recorded 10 assists. He was on the hardwood for 42 mins played and totaled 10 rebounds. He walked away with 33 points on 14 of 27 shooting.

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Houston heads into this one with a win-loss mark of 16-7 this season. They are giving up possession 16.1 times per game and as a team they commit 20.5 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Houston is grabbing 48.7 boards per contest and has accounted for 587 dimes on the season, which is 30th in the NBA in terms of passing. The Rockets are connecting on 39.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (272 of 681) and 79.0% from the free throw line. They are averaging 120.8 pts per game (4th in the league) while going 48.7% from the field.

Defensively, the Rockets are able to force 14.2 turnovers per game while drawing 22.5 personal fouls. They are 1st in basketball in giving up assists with 559 relinquished so far this year. The Rockets defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 46.0% (930 of 2,023) and they surrender 37.5 rebounds per contest as a squad. They relinquish 34.5% on three-point shots and they are ranked 3rd in the league in points per game allowed (111.2).

In their last game, the Pelicans took home the win by a final score of 114-104 when they faced the Bulls. When it comes to cleaning up the glass, New Orleans allowed Chicago to collect 43 in all (13 offensive). They finished 26.5% from three-point range by going 13 of 49 and ended up shooting 15 of 17 from the free throw line (88.2%). The Pelicans allowed the Bulls to bury 38 of 92 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 41.3% for the game. Overall, the Pelicans finished shooting 43 out of 93 from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.2%. When discussing shooting from downtown, New Orleans converted 8 out of 33 attempts (24.2%). They were able to make 20 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 80.0%. The Bulls earned 24 personal fouls for the game which got the Pelicans to the charity stripe for 25 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 15 times, while earning 7 steals for the game. The Pelicans were able to pull down 39 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive rebounds totaling 53 for the game.

Jeremiah Fears ended up being a factor for the Pelicans in the matchup. He made 7 of 13 in the game for a rate of 53.8%, and had 2 rebounds. Jeremiah earned 20 points in his 28 minutes on the hardwood and tallied 3 dimes in the matchup.

New Orleans has a record of 5-22 so far this season. On the offensive side of the court, the Pelicans are hitting on 46.1% from the floor, which is ranked 20th in basketball. New Orleans has earned 3,083 pts on the season (114.2 per game) and they collect 42.9 boards per contest. They are getting an assist 24.7 times per game (27th in basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 14.6 times per game. The Pelicans are responsible for committing 20.5 fouls per game and they shoot 78.4% from the free throw line.

The New Orleans defense concedes 36.3% on 3-point shots (412 of 1,136) and opponents are connecting on 81.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 28.8 dimes and 44.5 boards per game, which ranks them 27th and 19th in basketball. The Pelicans are ranked 28th in the league in PPG given up with 122.8. They have forced 15.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 49.3% from the field (29th in basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston (-10.5)

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