Denver Nuggets (41-26, fifth in the Western Conference) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (40-25, third in the Western Conference)
Los Angeles; Saturday, 8:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles hosts Denver trying to continue its five-game home winning streak.
The Lakers are 27-16 in conference play. Los Angeles is seventh in the Western Conference at limiting opponent scoring, allowing only 114.9 points while holding opponents to 48.3% shooting.
The Nuggets have gone 25-14 against Western Conference opponents. Denver has a 7-10 record in one-possession games.
The Lakers make 49.8% of their shots from the field this season, which is 2.8 percentage points higher than the Nuggets have allowed to their opponents (47.0%). The Nuggets average 5.7 more points per game (120.6) than the Lakers give up to opponents (114.9).
The teams meet for the third time this season. In the last matchup on March 6 the Nuggets won 120-113 led by 28 points from Nikola Jokic, while Luka Doncic scored 27 points for the Lakers.
TOP PERFORMERS: LeBron James is averaging 21.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers. Doncic is averaging 30.6 points over the last 10 games.
Jokic is averaging 28.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray is averaging 2.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lakers: 6-4, averaging 114.6 points, 41.3 rebounds, 26.0 assists, 8.3 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 48.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.0 points per game.
Nuggets: 5-5, averaging 119.1 points, 44.8 rebounds, 27.5 assists, 6.5 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 47.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 118.9 points.
INJURIES: Lakers: Jaxson Hayes: day to day (back), Maxi Kleber: out (back), Marcus Smart: day to day (hip).
Nuggets: Aaron Gordon: day to day (hamstring), Peyton Watson: out (hamstring).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
