The New Orleans Pelicans left no doubt Thursday night, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 119-102 in Game 3 of their playoff series and taking a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round NBA Playoffs series. The Pelicans easily covered the spread as 3.5-point favorites, and the game went over the total of 214.5.
The teams will play Game 4 at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, with the Pelicans looking to sweep the series. The odds for that matchup have been released at BetDSI Sportsbook: New Orleans is a 6-point favorite with an over/under of 216.
A rout from the start
The Trail Blazers led by a point twice in the early going, and the game was tied 14-14, but after that, it was all New Orleans. The Pelicans used a 22-4 run to take control at 36-18, and the margin was never less than 10 points from that point, much less in danger of New Orleans not covering the spread.
New Orleans’ largest lead came when Jordan Crawford hit a 3-pointer with 6:46 remaining in the fourth quarter for a 112-79 lead.
Hot, hot, hot
The Pelicans made plenty of shots all game long, hitting 52.9 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from 3-point range. Those numbers were even better in the first half, when New Orleans made 55.8 percent from the floor.
Nikola Mirotic, acquired in a midseason trade from the Chicago Bulls, led the Pelicans with 30 points and added 8 rebounds. He made an astounding 12 of 15 shots from the floor, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
Anthony Davis had 28 points and 11 rebounds. Rajon Rondo had 16 points and 11 assists and Jrue Holiday also had 16 points.
Three Trail Blazers surpassed 20 points, with C.J. McCollum scoring 22, Al-Farouq Aminu 21 and Damian Lillard 20. But Portland shot just 46.3 percent from the floor and 9 of 31 from 3-point range.
The big picture
The Pelicans were underdogs in the series but are now overwhelming favorites. Should they finish off the series, they likely would next play the Golden State Warriors, who hold a 3-0 series lead over the San Antonio Spurs. New Orleans would be a sizable underdog against the defending champion Warriors.
