Los Angeles Clippers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 3/18/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Clippers vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Gulf Coast Sports

Smoothie King Center is the location where the New Orleans Pelicans (23-46) will play the Los Angeles Clippers (34-34) on Wednesday.

The Clippers took the court against the Spurs and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 119-115 in their last contest. Los Angeles finished the game having earned a 48.3% field goal percentage (43 of 89) and made 11 of 29 3-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Clippers made 18 of 24 tries for a percentage of 75.0%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 37 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 25 assists in the game in addition to forcing the opposition into 15 turnovers and getting 11 steals. In reference to the defense, Los Angeles let their opponent shoot 46.2% from the floor on 43 of 93 shooting. San Antonio recorded 25 assists and had 5 steals in this game. Moreover, San Antonio snagged 52 boards (22 offensive, 30 defensive) and earned 5 blocked shots. San Antonio shot 79.3% at the free throw line by burying 23 of their 29 shots. They converted 10 out of their 36 shots from three-point range. With respect to fouls, the Clippers left the arena with 23 while the Spurs finished the game with 23 fouls.

Darius Garland is one guy who played a role for the matchup. He recorded 25 points on 9 out of 21 shooting. He saw the court for 32 mins and collected 2 boards. Garland shot 42.9% from the field and also distributed 10 dimes.

Get all of our NBA Betting Picks

Los Angeles enters this game with a win-loss record of 34-34 this season. They are turning it over 14.5 times per contest and as a unit are committing 18.8 personal fouls every game. As a team, Los Angeles is grabbing 40.7 boards per game and has racked up 1,606 assists on the season, which is 30th in basketball in terms of passing. The Clippers are connecting on 36.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (830 of 2,284) and 82.8% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 113.5 points per outing (23rd in basketball) while going 48.3% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Clippers are able to force 14.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.1 fouls. They currently rank 12th in basketball in giving up assists with 1,780 relinquished so far this year. The Clippers are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.8% (2,787 of 5,954) and they concede 42.1 rebounds per game as a squad. They are giving up 36.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 10th in the league in PPG allowed (112.7).

In their last game, the Pelicans got the victory with a final of 129-111 against the Mavericks. When talking about rebounding, New Orleans allowed Dallas to pull down 51 in total (13 on the offensive side). They finished 35.9% from distance by going 14 of 39 and ended up going 9 of 14 at the charity stripe (64.3%). The Pelicans allowed the Mavericks to bury 44 of 104 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 42.3% for the contest. When the final whistle blew, the Pelicans finished shooting 48 out of 95 from the field which gave them a rate of 50.5%. In relation to shots from downtown, New Orleans made 11 out of their 35 attempts (31.4%). They were able to convert 22 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 64.7%. The Mavericks earned 22 fouls in this matchup which took the Pelicans to the free throw line for a total of 34 shots. They also coughed up the ball 14 times, while recording 7 steals in the game. The Pelicans recorded 45 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 57 for the contest.

Zion Williamson pitched in for the Pelicans for the contest. Williamson recorded 27 points in his 29 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 1 assist for this game. He made 11 of 13 in the game giving him a rate of 84.6%, and had 4 rebounds.

New Orleans has a win-loss mark of 23-46 for the year. The Pelicans are responsible for committing 19.9 personal fouls per game and they connect on 78.4% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 25.1 times per contest (22nd in the league) and they lose possession via turnover 14.3 times per game. New Orleans has 7,979 pts on the season (115.6 per game) and they pull down 44.2 rebounds per game. When it comes to offense, the Pelicans are hitting on 46.5% from the field, which is 16th in the league.

The New Orleans defense gives up 34.9% on shots from distance (991 of 2,843) and their opponents are knocking down 77.8% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 27.8 dimes and 45.7 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 26th and 24th in the league. The Pelicans on defense are ranked 25th in basketball in PPG given up with 119.7. They are forcing 14.6 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 47.4% from the field (23rd in the NBA).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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.