Los Angeles Clippers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 3/19/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Clippers vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Gulf Coast Sports

The Los Angeles Clippers (34-34) are headed to Smoothie King Center on Thursday where they will go up against the New Orleans Pelicans (23-46).

The Clippers stepped onto the hardwood against the Spurs and took a loss by a score of 119-115 in their last game. With respect to fouls, the Clippers ended up with 23 and the Spurs totaled 23 fouls. They also converted 10 of their 36 shots from 3-point range. San Antonio shot 79.3% at the free throw line by making 23 of 29 tries. Furthermore, San Antonio pulled down 52 rebounds (22 offensive, 30 defensive) and earned 5 blocks. San Antonio dished out 25 assists and had 5 steals in this game. Regarding defending, Los Angeles let their opponent shoot 46.2% from the floor on 43 out of 93 shooting. They also dished out 25 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 15 turnovers and getting 11 steals. With respect to pulling down boards, they earned a total of 37 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the free throw line, the Clippers knocked down 18 of 24 shots for a rate of 75.0%. Los Angeles walked away from the game having earned a 48.3% FG percentage (43 of 89) and converted 11 of their 29 three-point shots.

Darius Garland is someone who had an impact for the game. He ended up walking away with 25 points on 9 out of 21 shooting. He saw the court for 32 mins and also pulled down 2 boards. Garland ended up going 42.9% from the floor and also totaled 10 dimes.

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Los Angeles steps onto the court with a record of 34-34 for the year. They currently have an average of 113.5 points per outing (23rd in basketball) while going 48.3% from the floor. The Clippers are connecting on 36.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (830 of 2,284) and 82.8% from the free throw line. As a team, Los Angeles is collecting 40.7 boards per game and is sitting with 1,606 dimes for the season, which ranks 30th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 14.5 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 18.8 fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Clippers are able to force 14.0 turnovers per game while drawing 20.1 fouls. They currently rank 9th in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,780 conceded this season. The Clippers are allowing a field goal percentage of 46.8% (2,787 of 5,954) and they surrender 42.1 rebounds per game as a team. They are giving up 36.6% from beyond the arc and they are 10th in the NBA in PPG from their opponents (112.7).

When they last played, the Pelicans went home victorious with a score of 129-111 against the Mavericks. The Pelicans collected 45 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 57 in this matchup. They turned it over 14 times, while earning 7 steals in the game. The Mavericks committed 22 personal fouls for this contest which got the Pelicans to the charity stripe for 34 tries. They were able to knock down 22 of the free throws for a rate of 64.7%. In terms of shots from distance, New Orleans buried 11 of their 35 tries (31.4%). Overall, the Pelicans finished shooting 48 for 95 from the floor which had them at 50.5%. The Pelicans allowed the Mavericks to convert 44 of their 104 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.3% for the game. They shot 35.9% from beyond the arc by connecting on 14 of 39 and walked away from this one shooting 9 of 14 at the charity stripe (64.3%). When it comes to cleaning the glass, New Orleans allowed Dallas to collect 51 in all (13 offensive).

Zion Williamson ended up being a factor for the Pelicans in the matchup. Williamson recorded 27 points in his 29 minutes on the court and totaled 1 assist in this contest. He buried 11 out of 13 in the game giving him a rate of 84.6%, and accumulated 4 rebounds.

New Orleans has a win-loss mark of 23-46 for the campaign. The Pelicans are committing 19.9 fouls every game and they connect on 78.4% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 25.1 times per contest (22nd in the NBA) and they are turning it over 14.3 times per game. New Orleans has scored 7,979 points this year (115.6 per contest) and they average 44.2 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Pelicans are hitting on 46.5% from the field, which ranks them 16th in basketball.

The Pelicans on defense are ranked 25th in the league in points given up per game with 119.7. They have forced 14.6 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 47.4% from the floor (23rd in the league). The New Orleans defense surrenders 34.9% on three-point shots (991 of 2,843) and opponents are knocking down 77.8% of their foul shots. They have allowed 27.8 dimes and 45.7 rebounds per contest, which is 25th and 25th in the NBA.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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