Western Conference heavyweights the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns will do battle at the Crypto.com Arena in the pick of Sunday's round of matches in the 2024-25 NBA campaign.
The home side have lost four straight matches heading into this one, while the away side will be looking to win consecutive games for the first time since late January, having recently returned to winning ways.
Match preview
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The Lakers wrapped up their road trip with a 131-126 defeat against the Denver Nuggets, which saw them lose four games on the bounce for the first time this term, and they head back to Los Angeles in need of a pick-me-up.
After flying out of the blocks to storm to an eight-point lead after the first quarter, JJ Redick's men saw their advantage vanish before the interval, and despite getting within three points of their opponents at the end of the third quarter, a comeback just proved to be a tad out of reach.
In the absence of LeBron James and Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves (37) and Dalton Knecht (32) combined for 69 points, with the former also racking up a game-high 13 assists, albeit all to no avail in a tense affair at the Ball Arena.
From a position of relative comfort, the Lakers now find themselves fifth in the Western Conference and are faced with the prospect of being denied automatic playoff qualification and having to settle for a play-in spot.
Returning to their home turf, where they have won their last six matches, for a five-game homestretch, the Lakers will be confident of stringing together a decent run of results as they look to climb up the standings.
Since coming up on top in this season's first meeting between the teams on October 26, Sunday's hosts have suffered defeat in the subsequent two outings and now set out to even the series at 2-2.
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Off the back of a four-game road trip, the Phoenix Suns were briefly back in action on home court, and to good effect with a 122-106 triumph over the Sacramento Kings at Footprint Centre on Saturday.
Mike Budenholzer's men were dominant from start to finish, having won three of the four quarters, leading for just under 45 of the 48 minutes of action, thanks in no small part to their dominance from beyond the arc as they knocked down thrice as many three-pointers (24) as their opponents on the day (eight).
Led by usual suspects Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, who notched 22 points apiece, the Suns had six players in double digits for points to secure a much-needed win in their battle for playoff qualification.
While they are currently 11th in the Western Conference standings, the Suns are now just two wins shy of the Kings and Dallas Mavericks in ninth and 10th respectively, with a game in hand on the latter.
Given their woeful 2-10 record over the last 12 matches on enemy territory, Sunday's visitors definitely need to get their act together away from home, and this weekend's trip is as good a time as any to do that.
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Team News
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The Lakers have a host of injury concerns for this one, but Maxi Kleber is the only guaranteed absentee for this one as he continues his recovery from foot surgery.
Doncic (calf, ankle) and James (groin) are huge doubts to feature for the home side here alongside Gabe Vincent, Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes, who are all nursing knee issues.
Following his impressive display against the Nuggets, Knecht will be expected to retain his place in the starting lineup, fending off competition from Shake Milton.
Cody Martin is still awaiting his debut for the Suns since joining from the Charlotte Hornets, but the forward should not have to wait too much longer now that he has returned to full fitness from a sports hernia.
However, Monte Morris (back), Nick Richards (ankle) and Grayson Allen (foot) are all major doubts here after all missing the visitors' most recent involvement.
Los Angeles Lakers possible starting five:
Reaves, Goodwin; Knecht, Vanderbilt; Len
Phoenix Suns possible starting five:
Booker, Dunn; Beal, Durant; Plumlee
We say: Suns to win by 6+ points
The Lakers have been laid down to bare bones due to their situation on the injury front, and we are backing the Suns to take full advantage and come away with the win here.
Adepoju Marvellous
