The Denver Nuggets will look to continue their domination of the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday as the series shifts to southern California for Game 3. The Nuggets have won their last 10 games against the Lakers when you include the postseason and are now on the brink of setting up yet another sweep. The Lakers saw a huge lead slip away in Game 2 and will be determined not to let something similar happen at home tonight.
Denver is clean on the day-to-day injury front. The Lakers will have Anthony Davis and LeBron James in the lineup. Both are officially listed as probable.
The Lakers are 1-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, and the total comes in at 216.5. Los Angeles is -115 on the moneyline while Denver is -105.
Nuggets vs. Lakers, 10 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Nuggets +1
Despite being down big and Jamal Murray struggling from the floor, the Nuggets were able to come back and win on a Murray buzzer-beater due to their superior execution in clutch time. That’s been the difference for the Nuggets all season, and I see no reason why that changes Thursday. The Lakers were 19-22 ATS as the home team this season and 14-15 ATS as the home favorite, so it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing at Crypto.com Arena. Denver went 17-23-1 ATS away from home but was 4-5 ATS as a road underdog.
I think the Lakers have lost a lot of confidence after Game 2 and even with an extra day off, I don’t see them being able to bounce back from Monday’s defeat. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are unlikely to see Murray struggle to that level again. Give me Denver to win and take a 3-0 lead in the series.
Over/Under: Under 216.5
Game 1 barely went over this number while Game 2 went substantially under. The Nuggets were 16-25 to the over on the road this season while the Lakers went 21-19-1 to the over at home. Both sides have played decent defense so far in this series, so I’ll take the under for tonight’s game. Even if Murray has a better shooting night, I think the overall tempo of this game slows down a bit and leads to the under cashing.