Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets
Friday, 1/21/11, 10:30 PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Pick
Current Betting Line: Los Angeles -1
Opening Total: 211.5
Current Total: 212.5
Los Angeles enters Friday night’s contest with four straight regular-season defeats in Denver and will be looking to bounce back from a 109-100 road loss to Dallas on Wednesday night. “We were making mistakes all night on defense, because offensively things were going well for us,” said star forward Kobe Bryant. “It was one of those games that was fool’s gold. We were playing well offensively and got a lead, but we were making mistakes defensively.” The Lakers are now 14-8 on the road this season, including an even 7-7 mark versus Western Conference opponents. The team trails 0-1 in the three-game series with tonight’s opponent and has just a 5-5 record in the last 10 meetings overall. Los Angeles is 5-14 ATS as a road favorite of three points or less and currently in that area on the NBA lines page.
The Lakers had a 10-point fourth quarter lead in the first matchup this season at the Pepsi Center, only to see the Nuggets reel off a 16-0 run and ultimately capture a 118-112 win on November 11, 2010. Bryant finished with a game-high 34 points, but shot just 11-of-32 from the field. Los Angeles has managed to shoot just 35.5 percent during its four straight regular-season losses at the Pepsi Center, which is different than the 48 percent shooting they managed in going 2-1 at the venue during the 2009 Western Conference finals.
Denver is 24-17 overall on the season and captured a 112-107 home win over Oklahoma City Wednesday night. The Nuggets were led by star Carmelo Anthony’s 35 points and forward Kenyon Martin managed to pull down 11 rebounds in the win. Anthony’s status on the team has served as a major distraction and he doesn’t blame the fans in being angry at the situation. “At this point, I don’t expect any cheers,” he commented. The offense hasn’t suffered in the last four games played in front of the home fans, averaging 125.3 points over that span, as the team has managed to shoot a combined 54.6 percent. Denver is 2-0 ATS as a home underdog of three points or less this season.
The Nuggets have won five of the last six regular season meetings with the Lakers and Anthony scored 17 of his 32 points in the second half of the earlier season victory. Denver leads the NBA in scoring this season at 107.3 points per game and has posted a 14-3 record when scoring 110 or more points this season. The squad played a solid fundamental game in defeating the Thunder, committing just eight turnovers, which happens to be the fourth time in the last six games that its managed 10 or fewer turnovers.
Bettors will likely back the Nuggets due to their 19-7 ATS mark versus teams with a winning road record, while the Lakers are 1-5-1 ATS versus the Western Conference.
