A very exciting NBA night is going to continue with a game between Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans. After 39 games, Dallas has 22 wins, 17 losses and the 4th place in the Western Conference while the Pelicans have 24 wins, 17 losses and the 3rd place in the standings. In this game, I'm predicting that the Mavericks will cover the handicap.

Dallas was rolling the last few weeks as they won 7 games in a row. The streak was stopped by Boston Celtics which crushed opponents. It was a very bad game for Luka Doncic who looked a little bit sick but he is going to play today. 3 wins during the streak were in Dallas. Per advanced stats, the Mavericks have the 8th-best offense at home (116.4), the 15th-best defense (111.1) and the 12th-best net rating (5.4).

The Pelicans are struggling a little bit lately. The team has won just 1 out of the last 4 games and they even played on Friday night. New Orleans lost to good playing Brooklyn Nets and now they are having a back-to-back. The Pelicans have covered the spread just in 2 out of 5 back-to-back games and both matches were against the Warriors who rested their biggest stars. On the road, the Pelicans have the 11th-best offense (112.2), the 6th-best defense (112.2) and the 6th-best net rating (0.0).

If we speak about today's game, New Orleans advanced stats shouldn't take very seriously. Why so? Zion Williamson injured his hamstring 2 games ago and now he's going to miss at least 3 weeks. Brandon Ingram hasn't played for some while and won't do it today as well while the team decided to sit CJ McCollum as well. Without those 3, who's going to score? Jonas Valanciunas is the 4th best scorer but he is questionable as well. Larry Nance will also miss the game and he's also an important piece.

This is a great chance for Dallas to bounce back. I'm more than sure that they won't allow happening Boston's game 2 times in a row. In the last 7 games, Luka Doncic has 3 games with at least 50 points. Dallas has won 4 out of the last 5 home games and 3 of them have been by at least 9 points. The Pelicans have lost 5 out of the last 6 away games and 3 losses were with at least 9 points.

本译文使用有道机器翻译，仅供参考：

一个非常激动人心的NBA之夜将继续在达拉斯小牛队和新奥尔良鹈鹕队之间进行比赛。在39场比赛结束后，小牛取得22胜17负，排名西部第4，而鹈鹕队取得24胜17负，排名西部第3。在这场比赛中，我预测小牛会克服障碍。

小牛在过去的几周打出了七连胜。波士顿凯尔特人队击败了对手，结束了连胜。对于卢卡·东契奇来说，这是一场非常糟糕的比赛，他看起来有点不舒服，但他今天会参加比赛。其中3场连胜是在达拉斯取得的。根据高级数据，小牛在主场的进攻(116.4)排名第八，防守(111.1)排名第15，净效率(5.4)排名第12。

鹈鹕最近有点挣扎。这支球队在过去的4场比赛中只赢了1场，他们甚至在周五晚上比赛。新奥尔良输给了实力强大的布鲁克林篮网，现在他们正在背靠背比赛。鹈鹕在背靠背的5场比赛中只赢了2场，而且两场比赛的对手都是勇士，他们的巨星都休息了。在客场，鹈鹕拥有第11好的进攻(112.2)，第6好的防守(112.2)和第6好的净效率(0.0)。

如果我们谈论今天的比赛，黄蜂的高级数据不应该太当真。为什么如此?锡安·威廉姆森在两场比赛前拉伤了腿筋，现在他将缺席至少3周。布兰登·英格拉姆已经有一段时间没有上场了，今天也不会上场，因为球队决定让CJ·麦科勒姆也坐下来。没有这三分，谁能得分?瓦兰丘纳斯是第四得分手，但他也有问题。拉里·南斯也将缺席比赛，他也是重要的一员。

这是达拉斯东山再起的好机会。我非常确定他们不会允许波士顿连续两场这样的比赛发生。在过去的7场比赛中，卢卡-东契奇有3场至少得到50分。小牛在过去的5个主场比赛中赢了4场，其中3场至少赢了9分。鹈鹕在过去的6场客场比赛中输掉了5场，其中3场输掉了至少9分。