Pick against the spread, over/under for Lakers vs. Clippers on Thursday

Two cross-town rivals will meet as the Lakers (25-27) pay a visit to the Clippers (26-27) at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 10:00 p.m. ET. The Lakers come into this game on the back of a 99-94 win over the Portland Trail Blazers at home, as Carmelo Anthony and Anthony Davis combined for 54 points. The Clips dropped a 122-116 result on the road to the Indiana Pacers as they’re still struggling to find their elite form without Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.

The Clippers are favored to win by 3.5 points, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. They come in at -155 on the moneyline while the Lakers sit at +135. The point total is set at 219.5 for this matchup.

Lakers vs. Clippers, 10:00 p.m. ET

Pick ATS: Lakers +3.5 (-110)

While neither of these teams are the championship contenders they once were, there’s still plenty on the line for both sides as they fight to stay in playoff contention. The Clippers, without Kawhi Leonard since last season’s playoffs, took another huge hit when Paul George suffered an elbow injury in December and has been out ever since. They’ve gone 9-12 in the 17 games they’ve played without him, struggling to hit that .500 mark in the meantime. They’ve had a decent run of form lately though, going 5-4 straight up and 7-2 ATS in their last nine outings.

The Lakers have been without LeBron James (knee) for four games now, and it really shows in the results as they’ve gone 1-3 in those four matchups. Their win over the Blazers on Wednesday snapped a three-game losing skid as they hope James is getting closer to his return. He’s listed as questionable ahead of tonight’s matchup, but it looks likely that he’ll be sidelined a little longer before coming back to action. This puts more pressure on guys like Russell Westbrook to fill the void offensively, which he’s done a decent job of up until his nine-point performance against the Blazers.

Still, the Lakers seem to have the advantage as Anthony Davis has been impressive on both ends of the court. He’s averaged 29.3 points and 10.6 rebounds in his last three games. The Clippers should have a tough time containing him, as they’ve been allowing 49.7 points per game in the paint, good for fourth-worst in the league. As long as AD isn’t held out for rest tonight on the second of a back-to-back, take the Lakers to cover the spread.

Over/Under: Over 219.5 (-110)

Both teams have hit over the total plenty of times in their last 10 outings, with the Lakers doing it five times and the Clippers hitting it six. Four of those overs have come in the Clips’ last six games. The Lakers have one of the fastest paces in the NBA, but their scoring defense has been shoddy at best, allowing 112.2 points per game throughout the course of the season (ranked 27th in the league). Expect both teams to score plenty of points tonight, pushing the score over the total.

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