New York Knicks vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 12/29/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: New York Knicks vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Monday, December 29, 2025

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Gulf Coast Sports

Smoothie King Center is the location where the New Orleans Pelicans (8-23) will try to defeat the New York Knicks (21-9) on Monday.

The Knicks faced off with the Cavaliers and took home the win by a score of 126-124 in their last game. In regard to fouls, the Knicks ended up finishing with 18 while the Cavaliers accumulated 27 fouls. They made 15 of their 34 shots from beyond the perimeter. Cleveland ended up going 82.6% at the free throw line by knocking down 19 of their 23 attempts. On top of that, Cleveland pulled down 45 rebounds (9 offensive, 36 defensive) and earned 5 blocks. Cleveland earned 31 dimes and had 10 steals for the game. When it comes to defending, New York allowed the other team to go 52.3% from the floor on 45 of 86 shooting. They also dished out 31 dimes in the game while forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In terms of rebounding, they compiled a total of 43 with 12 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Knicks buried 17 of their 22 attempts for a percentage of 77.3%. New York wrapped up the game having earned a 46.8% field goal percentage (44 out of 94) and knocked down 21 of 44 3-point attempts.

Jalen Brunson is a player who was a major contributor for this game. Brunson finished shooting 40.0% from the floor and recorded 4 assists. He saw the court for 39 minutes and also collected 1 rebound. He left the arena with 34 points on 10 of 25 shooting.

Get all of our NBA Betting Picks

New York will enter this game with a record of 21-9 on the campaign. They are losing possession via turnover 13.7 times per contest and as a team they commit 20.7 fouls per contest. As a team, New York is pulling down 46.1 boards per game and has tallied 807 assists this year, which is 11th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Knicks are hitting 38.3% on 3-point shots (454 of 1,185) and 79.0% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 120.3 pts per game (5th in the league) while shooting 47.8% from the field.

Defensively, the Knicks are forcing 14.3 turnovers per game while drawing 20.4 fouls. They concede 36.7% on 3-point attempts and they rank 8th in the league in PPG allowed (113.3). The Knicks defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.2% (1,206 of 2,612) and they concede 41.4 boards per contest as a group. They currently rank 8th in basketball in allowing assists with 755 surrendered on the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the Pelicans took a loss by a final score of 141-118 when they faced the Cavaliers. The Pelicans snagged 30 defensive boards and 13 offensive rebounds totaling 43 in this matchup. They gave up possession 15 times, while getting 10 steals in this matchup. The Cavaliers earned 21 personal fouls for this contest which got the Pelicans to the charity stripe for a total of 25 attempts. They were able to convert 21 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 84.0%. In regard to shooting from 3-point land, New Orleans buried 11 of their 26 tries (42.3%). When the game finished, the Pelicans finished the game shooting 43 for 94 from the field which gave them a rate of 45.7%. The Pelicans allowed the Cavaliers to knock down 56 of 105 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 53.3% in this matchup. They finished the game shooting 40.8% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 20 of 49 and ended up shooting 9 out of 11 at the free throw line (81.8%). In the matter of attacking the glass, New Orleans allowed Cleveland to get 49 overall (14 offensive).

Zion Williamson was important for the Pelicans for the contest. He made 9 out of 15 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and tallied 5 rebounds. Williamson recorded 26 points in his 21 mins on the court and tallied 1 assist for the contest.

New Orleans has a record of 8-23 for the year. The Pelicans commit 20.5 fouls per game and they hit 79.3% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 24.9 times per contest (24th in the NBA) and they are turning it over 14.6 times per game. New Orleans has totaled 3,581 pts so far this year (115.5 per contest) and they grab 43.3 boards per contest. As an offensive team, the Pelicans are hitting on 46.4% from the floor, which ranks 20th in basketball.

The New Orleans defense allows 35.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter (460 of 1,292) and their opposition makes 79.4% of their free throw attempts. They give up 29.2 dimes and 45.4 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 28th and 23rd in the league. The Pelicans on the defensive end are ranked 27th in basketball in points allowed per game with 122.8. They are forcing 15.4 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 48.9% from the field (28th in basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take New Orleans

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get NBA picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.