How To Watch Indiana Pacers-New Orleans Pelicans, Lineups, Injury Report, Betting Lines & More

A preview of Saturday’s NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and New Orleans Pelicans.

Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard was excellent in Thursday's matchup against the New York Knicks and will need to continue to excel in New Orleans to help his team secure a second road victory. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Rick Carlisle is 0-3 in his pursuit of the 1,000th regular-season win of his career as head coach, but he’s got a shot to reach that milestone here since his Pacers are playing one of only two teams with a worse record than their own. 

Indiana and New Orleans are two of the four teams with just six victories, two more than the NBA’s last-place squad, 4-21 Washington. The Wizards denied Carlisle the honor of becoming the 11th head coach to reach the 1,000-win club last Sunday, and the Pacers have won only once in 12 road games this season, so they’re underdogs in the “Big Easy.” 

Vitals - How to Watch Pacers at Pelicans

Game date, time and location: Saturday, Dec. 20, 7:10 p.m. EST, Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Indiana (Pacers), Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network (Pelicans)

Radio: 1070 The Fan (Pacers), WWL-AM/FM (Pelicans)

Hornets look to extend season-long win streak after upset of Rockets

The Indiana Pacers (6-21) and New Orleans Pelicans (6-22) have been near the bottom of the standings all season. The Pels dropped their first six games and got Willie Green fired as head coach after a 2-10 start, while Indy lost its first five and dropped 13 before pulling off its second win.

The Pelicans have won three straight for the first time since late February and are looking to match their longest win streak in years since they haven’t won five straight since late March 2023. New Orleans dropped Houston in OT on Thursday 133-128 behind a season-high 29 points from forward Saddiq Bey. The Pels rallied from a 25-point second-half deficit and got eight steals from Herb Jones, one of multiple key players who returned from injuries after missing the start of the season. Zion Williamson returned to action last Sunday and is coming off the bench.

The Pacers are still light on depth, which ultimately cost them in a 114-113 loss to the Knicks that they led most of the way two nights ago. Andrew Nembhard and Pascal Siakam combined for 57 points, but Jalen Brunson’s 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds remaining held up to deny Indiana an upset in the first meeting against New York since May’s Eastern Conference finals.

New Orleans and Indiana are meeting for the first time all year, having last played on Dec. 15, 2024. The teams will wrap up their season series at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Jan. 16. Despite not being members of the same conference, the Pels and Pacers played three times last season with Indiana winning twice. The teams had split their regular-season matchups four consecutive years, and Indiana has won 19 of the last 29 matchups dating way back to 2012. The Pacers lead the regular-season series 30-21 dating back to their first matchup in ‘02.

Betting Lines (via DraftKings) 

Spread: Pelicans -1.5 (-120) Pacers +1.5 (+100)

Moneyline: Pelicans -135, Pacers +114

Total: 234.5 (Over -115, Under -105)

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

PROJECTED STARTERS

PELICANS

F Trey Murphy III

F Saddiq Bey

C Deriq Queen

G Jeremiah Fears

G Herb Jones

PACERS

F Bennedict Mathurin

F Pascal Siakam

C Jay Huff

G Andrew Nembhard

G Quenton Jackson

INJURY REPORT

PACERS 

Tyrese Haliburton: Out - Right Achilles Tendon tear

Aaron Nesmith: Out - Left Knee MCL Sprain

Obi Toppin: Out - Right Foot Stress Fracture

Ben Sheppard: Out - Left Calf Strain

Tony Bradley: Questionable - Right Thumb Fracture

Kam Jones: Doubtful - G League (On assignment)

Taelon Peter: Doubtful - G League (Two-way)

PELICANS

Dejounte Murray: Out - Right Achilles Rupture

Trey Alexander: Out - G League (Two-way)

Hunter Dickinson: Out - G League (Two-way)

QUOTABLE

Pelicans forward Saddiq Bey on the lift the home crowd gave his team in Thursday’s comeback win: "If our fans weren’t there, I don’t know if we would have the juice. They were giving us the energy to be able to continue to fight, possession by possession."