Pelicans Top Kings 132-120: Our Pick Grades

The New Orleans Pelicans moved to 1-4 with a 132-120 win over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night in New Orleans. The story of the night was the scoring: a game projected to land in the 230s turned into a track meet, and the Pelicans' offense — the one functional part of their profile through four winless games — finally had enough support on the other end to close one out.

Sacramento's Darius Acuff Jr. turned in a monster individual performance in the loss, joining some rare statistical company in the process. It wasn't enough against a New Orleans side that got the win it had been circling.

How our premium pick graded

We sold the Pelicans -5.5 (-225 ML) as the value side of a matchup between two 0-4 teams. That one hit: New Orleans won by 12, covering the number with room to spare. The reasoning held up — the gap between these teams was real, and the Pelicans' -5.8 point differential pointed to a team losing close games rather than getting blown out.

Our Under call missed. The total was never in doubt once both offenses settled in, and a 252-point game buried it.

What it means going forward

The spread read was right, but the total was a reminder that a bad defensive team facing a hot shooting night can blow past any number. New Orleans' 122.0 points allowed per game was the warning sign we underweighted. Until that defense tightens, Pelicans games are overs until proven otherwise — and the -5.5 cover shows the market's price on this team wasn't as inflated as it looked.