Game: Phoenix Suns vs New Orleans Pelicans
Date: Friday, December 26, 2025
Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA
TV: Gulf Coast Sports
Smoothie King Center is where the New Orleans Pelicans (8-23) will play the Phoenix Suns (16-13) on Friday.
The Suns played the Lakers and went home with a win by a final score of 132-108 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Suns left the arena with 24 and the Lakers accumulated 22 personal fouls. They buried 12 of their 32 tries from beyond the arc. Los Angeles finished the game at 62.1% at the charity stripe by making 18 of their 29 attempts. Furthermore, Los Angeles had 38 rebounds (14 offensive, 24 defensive) and added 6 blocked shots. Los Angeles dished out 22 assists and had 7 steals for this contest. In terms of defense, Phoenix let their opponent shoot 48.1% from the floor on 39 of 81 shooting. They also dished out 35 assists in this matchup while forcing the other team into 17 turnovers and getting 10 steals. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 38 with 12 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Suns buried 18 of 20 attempts for a rate of 90.0%. Phoenix finished having earned a 58.8% FG percentage (50 of 85) and made 14 out of their 34 three-point shots.
Dillon Brooks is one guy who played a role for this game. He had 25 points on 10 of 15 shooting. He played for 24 mins but did not grab any boards. Brooks finished the contest at 66.7% from the floor but had no assists when the time ran out.
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Phoenix will play this contest with a record of 16-13 on the season. They are averaging 114.9 points per game (21st in the NBA) while hitting 46.8% from the field. The Suns are shooting 36.4% on 3-pointers (409 of 1,124) and 79.7% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Phoenix is grabbing 41.9 rebounds per contest and has totaled 740 assists on the year, which ranks 22nd in the league in terms of passing. They lose possession by turning the ball over 15.9 times per game and as a group they are committing 22.3 personal fouls on a nightly basis.
Defensively, the Suns are forcing 17.6 turnovers every game and they draw 19.8 personal fouls. They are ranked 8th in the NBA in giving up assists to the opposition with 744 surrendered so far this season. The Suns defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 47.5% (1,182 of 2,488) and they relinquish 42.7 boards per contest as a team. They are giving up 35.7% on 3-pointers and they rank 10th in the NBA in points per game allowed (113.9).
The last time they took the hardwood, the Pelicans went home defeated by a final of 141-118 when they faced the Cavaliers. When discussing team rebounding, New Orleans allowed Cleveland to grab 49 in total (14 on the offensive glass). They finished 40.8% from 3-point land by going 20 of 49 and finished the game at 9 of 11 at the charity stripe (81.8%). The Pelicans permitted the Cavaliers to bury 56 out of their 105 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 53.3% for the game. When the game finished, the Pelicans finished 43 out of 94 from the field which gave them a rate of 45.7%. When talking about shots from downtown, New Orleans converted 11 of their 26 attempts (42.3%). They were able to knock down 21 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 84.0%. The Cavaliers were called for 21 personal fouls for the contest which got the Pelicans to the charity stripe for a total of 25 attempts. They coughed up the ball 16 times, while recording 10 steals in this contest. The Pelicans were able to pull down 30 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds totaling 43 for this game.
Zion Williamson ended up being a factor for the Pelicans for this contest. He knocked down 9 out of 15 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and totaled 5 rebounds. Williamson had 26 points in his 21 mins of playing time and accumulated 1 assist for the contest.
New Orleans has a win-loss record of 8-23 this year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Pelicans are shooting 46.4% from the floor, which ranks 19th in the league. New Orleans has scored 3,581 points for the season (115.5 per contest) and they grab 43.3 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 24.9 times per contest (24th in basketball) and they are giving up possession 14.6 times per contest. The Pelicans commit 20.5 fouls per contest and they go 79.3% from the free throw line.
The New Orleans defense allows 35.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter (460 of 1,292) and opponents are converting on 79.4% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 29.2 dimes and 45.4 boards per game, which ranks them 28th and 23rd in basketball. The Pelicans on the defensive side of the court are 27th in the league in PPG given up with 122.8. They have forced 15.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 48.9% from the field (28th in basketball).
Who will win tonight’s NBA game against the spread?
Josh Schonwald’s Pick: Take Phoenix
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