New Orleans Pelicans at Philadelphia 76ers NBA best bet

The New Orleans Pelicans can extend their winning streak to three in a row when they travel to face the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. CT at Wells Fargo Center.

New Orleans (37-25) is coming off convincing wins over the Indiana Pacers (129-102) and Toronto Raptors (139-98), and Friday’s battle with Philadelphia projects to be much of the same.

The Pelicans are eight-point favorites over a 76ers squad that has struggled since losing last year’s NBA MVP, Joel Embiid.

Rather than taking a chance with the full-game line, the best betting angle for this matchup is to bet on New Orleans to set the tone in the opening period.

The Pelicans are third in the league in first-quarter net rating (11.3), trailing only the Boston Celtics (17.6) and Denver Nuggets (12.2), the two best teams in the league. Philadelphia is 17th with a net rating of 0.4, but that mark drops to -1.5 since losing Embiid to injury in late January.

While the Pelicans naturally have some drop-off on the road, they still rank fourth in the league in first-quarter net rating for away games. Their defense is better on the road in the first frame, ranking sixth in defensive rating during the opening 12 minutes.

New Orleans raced out to a 42-28 lead at Toronto last time out and a 48-26 first-quarter advantage against Indiana. The Pels have led by at least four points after the opening period in their previous nine victories dating back to Feb. 5.

The Pelicans are 2.5-point favorites in the first quarter, with bettors needing to pay -115 juice to take the road team. There is a real chance this number closes at -3 or better, so it’s worth taking the juiced -2.5 before tipoff.

Best bet: Pelicans first-quarter spread -2.5 (-115 via Caesars)