Oklahoma
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: How to watch live stream, TV channel, NBA start time
Who’s Playing
Oklahoma City Thunder @ New Orleans Pelicans
Current Records: Oklahoma City 31-13, New Orleans 26-18
How To Watch
- When: Friday, January 26, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET
- Where: Smoothie King Center — New Orleans, Louisiana
- TV: Bally Sports – New Orleans
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $13.30
What to Know
The New Orleans Pelicans will stay at home for another game and welcome the Oklahoma City Thunder at 8:00 p.m. ET on January 26th at Smoothie King Center. After the pair made easy work of their previous opponents, one of them is set up to suffer a discouraging change of fortune on Friday.
The Pelicans scored the most points they’ve had all season to find success on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Utah as New Orleans made off with a 153-124 win. The Pelicans pushed the score to 115-91 by the end of the third, a deficit the Jazz had little chance of recovering from.
The Pelicans relied on the efforts of Herbert Jones, who scored 22 points along with five assists and five rebounds, and CJ McCollum, who went 9 for 13 from beyond the arc en route to 33 points and 2 assists.
Meanwhile, the Thunder had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Wednesday. They were the clear victor by a 140-114 margin over San Antonio. Winning is a bit easier when you make nine more threes than your opponent, as the Thunder did.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 32 points and ten assists. The contest was his fourth in a row with at least 30 points. Less helpful for the Thunder was Luguentz Dort’s abysmal 0-5 three-point shooting.
New Orleans’ win bumped their record up to 26-18. As for Oklahoma City, they are on a roll lately: they’ve won eight of their last ten matches, which provided a nice bump to their 31-13 record this season.
Friday’s game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: The Pelicans just can’t miss this season, having made 48.9% of their shots per game. However, it’s not like the Thunder (currently ranked second in field goal percentage per game) struggle in that department as they’ve made 50.6% of their shots per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Looking ahead, the Pelicans are expected to win a tight contest, barring any buzzer beaters. This contest will be their fifth straight as the favorites (so far over this stretch they are 2-2 against the spread).
Odds
New Orleans is a slight 2-point favorite against Oklahoma City, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 2-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is set at 241 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
New Orleans has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Oklahoma City.
- Nov 01, 2023 – New Orleans 110 vs. Oklahoma City 106
- Apr 12, 2023 – Oklahoma City 123 vs. New Orleans 118
- Mar 11, 2023 – Oklahoma City 110 vs. New Orleans 96
- Feb 13, 2023 – New Orleans 103 vs. Oklahoma City 100
- Dec 23, 2022 – New Orleans 128 vs. Oklahoma City 125
- Nov 28, 2022 – New Orleans 105 vs. Oklahoma City 101
- Dec 26, 2021 – Oklahoma City 117 vs. New Orleans 112
- Dec 15, 2021 – New Orleans 113 vs. Oklahoma City 110
- Nov 10, 2021 – Oklahoma City 108 vs. New Orleans 100
- Apr 29, 2021 – New Orleans 109 vs. Oklahoma City 95
The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday’s card in Oklahoma City, including a pair to the main event fighters.
After UFC Fight Night 281, four fighters picked up an extra $100,000 for their performances at Paycom Center. Additionally, two fighters got $25,000 extra checks for finishes that weren’t bonus-winners.
Check out the list of winners below.
Dricus Du Plessis (24-3 MMA, 10-1 UFC) put on a masterful performance with a unanimous decision over former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (21-5 MMA, 16-4 UFC), whose return to middleweight ended in failure – and him saying he didn’t want to be a sore loser, then listing about six reasons why he was being precisely that. Du Plessis frequently made Usman look slow, though the broadcast team starting in the third round lauded him for his grit. DDP’s scorecards included a 50-45, which Usman took particular exception with as part of his “I’m not a sore loser” sore loser time on the microphone with Daniel Cormier, who seemed unsure if he should feel sorry for him or be embarrassed for his assertion that he somehow was in a competitive fight.
Performance of the Night: Felipe Franco ($100,000)
Felipe Franco (11-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) turned in a performance to remember for his first win in the UFC when he took out Levi Rodrigues (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with a second-round TKO. Back at 205 pounds after a loss in his UFC debut at heavyweight, Franco mounted Rodrigues and pounded him out in the second frame.
Performance of the Night: Tommy McMillen ($100,000)
Tommy McMillen (11-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) looked like a star has been born when he set a new promotional record for significant strikes in a three-round featherweight fight. And thought he took a few licks himself from Alberto Montes (11-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC), he put him away with about 90 seconds left in the fight after a torrid of standup punishment.
Finish bonus: R.J. Harris ($25,000)
R.J. Harris (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) had a stellar debut in the UFC at heavyweight when he drilled Alvin Hines (7-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) with an uppercut in the first round that took him off his feet. Harris was on him in the bat of an eye and a few punches later had a stoppage in 100 seconds.
Finish bonus: Dione Barbosa ($25,000)
Dione Barbosa (10-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) made things look easy against Alice Melisano (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Knowing her easiest path to victory was on the canvas, she took the UFC newcomer and “TUF” grad down right away, then worked her way to an eventual rear-naked choke finish in the opening round. Barbosa was the second biggest betting favorite on the card at 7-1.
The Oklahoma Sooners surprised the college football world with their breakthrough 2025 season. The Sooners made the College Football Playoff after a 6-7 season in 2024.
The Sooners navigated one of the toughest schedules in college football and still finished the regular season with a 10-2 record. With another offseason of development and the return of several key contributors, expectations are high around Norman heading into 2026. However, that optimism has not carried over to the national conversation.
ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) projects the Sooners will finish with a 7-5 record this season. Despite that projection, FPI still ranks Oklahoma as the No. 12 team in the country. That disrespect likely comes from the up-and-down tenure under head coach Brent Venables. So far, he’s had two double-digit-win seasons, while also having two losing seasons. Oklahoma hadn’t had a losing season since 1998 until Venables took over before the 2022 season.
On3’s Ari Wasserman said that Oklahoma has been overlooked nationally on his show with Andy Staples.
Oklahoma has already shown it can compete at the highest level after making the College Football Playoff in its first season as an SEC member. Now, the challenge is proving that last season was not just a one-year breakthrough.
With a talented roster, an elite defense, and key players returning, the Sooners have the opportunity to exceed national expectations and establish themselves as a consistent contender in the SEC.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on X @jaronspor.
Du Plessis returns to the Octagon for the first time since losing his middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev last August. Standing across from him is Usman, a former welterweight champion who defended his title five times, with signature wins over Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington. The pair headline a stacked card filled with rising contenders and can’t-miss prospects.
Where To Watch UFC Oklahoma City
Live results, highlights, fight recaps, post-fight interviews and more will be added throughout the event. Preview each matchup below before the action begins. The main card kicks off Saturday at 8pm ET/5pm PT live on Paramount+ in the United States.
UFC Oklahoma City Main Card Results:
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