Sports Mole previews Thursday’s NBA clash between Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, including predictions, team news and form guides.
For the fourth and final time in the 2024-25 NBA regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets will go head-to-head at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.
Following respective victories in their most recent involvements, the teams will head into this one on a high as they look to pick up where they left off last time out.
Match preview
© Imago
Building on their 107-96 triumph over the Phoenix Suns two days prior, the Los Angeles Lakers had little problem seeing off the challenge of the San Antonio Spurs courtesy of a 125-109 victory when the teams locked horns on Tuesday.
A characteristically strong first-quarter display saw JJ Redick‘s men race to a 10-point lead which was extended by nine points over the subsequent 24 minutes of action, leaving any chance of a Spurs comeback dead in the water.
Continuing his recent barrage of impressive attacking displays, Austin Reaves was once again his side’s leading scorer with 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists, although Luka Doncic also played a major role as he finished one rebound shy of a sixth triple-double of the season.
Since losing four consecutive matches on the road, the Lakers have now come out on top in back-to-back games on home turf to remain two wins shy of the Houston Grizzlies and the Nuggets in second and third place respectively in the Western Conference standings.
Given their recent head-to-head record against Thursday’s opponents, the home side will be bracing themselves up for another stern test if they are to remain perfect in the third instalment of a five-game homestretch, after which the Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls come into town.
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The Nuggets were left with eggs on their faces after Sunday’s 126-123 defeat to the Washington Wizards but wasted no time getting back to winning ways by beating a resurgent Golden State Warriors outfit 114-105 at the Chase Center on Tuesday.
Like most of their victories this term, Michael Malone‘s men put themselves in the driving seat heading into the interval with a 12-point advantage which proved to be unassailable over the course of the final 24 minutes of play.
With Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray unavailable through injury, Aaron Gordon notched a season-high 38 points on 14-23 shooting, while Michael Porter Jr recorded consecutive 20-point games for the first time since early February with a 21-point performance.
Now 44-25 for the season, the Nuggets continue to stake their claim for second place in a tightly packed Western Conference, where second-place Rockets and seventh-place Minnesota Timberwolves are separated by four wins.
Thursday’s journey to Los Angeles is the second of a four-game road trip for the away side, who have the opportunity to win three straight matches on enemy territory for the first time since late February.
Los Angeles Lakers NBA form:
Denver Nuggets NBA form:
Team News
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Maxi Kleber (foot) and LeBron James (groin) are guaranteed absentees for the Lakers here, but the latter is drawing increasingly closer to returning to action.
Rui Hachimura has missed 10 straight games for the home side due to a knee problem, and Thursday’s game is expected to come too soon for the Japan international who only just recently progressed to doing 3-on-3 work.
Averaging just under 31 points across his last four matches, Austin Reaves is definitely one to keep an eye on, having also tallied a combined 78 points across the three previous editions of Thursday’s fixture this term.
Julian Strawther is out until early April at the very least after picking up a knee problem earlier this month, missing each of the Nuggets’ eight matches since.
DaRon Holmes II (Achilles) is also out of contention for the away side, while Murray (ankle), Jokic (elbow) and Christian Braun (foot) will all need to pass a late fitness test to feature here.
Los Angeles Lakers possible starting five:
Doncic, Goodwin; Reaves, Finney-Smith; Hayes
Denver Nuggets possible starting five:
Murray, Westbrook; Gordon, Porter Jr; Jokic
We say: Nuggets to win by 6+ points
Having beaten the Warriors on the road without arguably the league’s best player in Jokic, the Nuggets will head to Los Angeles with the wind in their sails, and we fancy them to record another feather in the cap away from home.
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