These two engaged in a thrilling battle the last time they met, with the Los Angeles Lakers almost completing a comeback. Will we see a sequel?

Catch the game tomorrow at 8:30 AM, Manila time.

AWAY: Los Angeles Lakers (14-9, 4-7 AWAY)

Projected starting five:

• D’Angelo Russell
• Cam Reddish
• Taurean Prince
• LeBron James
• Anthony Davis

The Lakers are riding high after winning the first-ever In-Season Tournament. They are 9-3 over their last 12 games (including the IST championship). 

We’ll now see how winning the tournament can help with a team’s momentum, especially for Anthony Davis, who had a monstrous 41 points, 20 rebounds, and four blocks in the clinching game, but has had disappearing acts in certain moments. One of those was actually in their recent 104-101 loss to the Dallas Mavericks last November 23rd, where he was held to 4-of-10 shooting for 10 points, and a scoreless second half.

LeBron James is likewise coming off a hot run, including a pair of 30-point games, but should also look to redeem himself. He had a costly turnover in the final possession of their previous meeting with the Mavericks.

D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura, among others, will continue being the secondary guys. All should be focused to provide the two stars ample help.

HOME: Dallas Mavericks (14-8, 6-4 HOME)

Projected starting five:

• Luka Doncic
• Dante Exum / Kyrie Irving and Tim Hardaway (day-to-day)
• Derrick Jones / Josh Green (day-to-da)
• Grant Williams
• Dereck Lively

The Mavericks may have a handful of guys out: Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway, Derrick Jones, and Josh Green are day-to-day, some of which are not likely to play. However, they still have momentum as they are on a scoring tear, averaging 130.6 PPG in their active three-game winning streak.

They’ll also have that confidence from that previous win over the Lakers, where they continuously stumbled in the fourth quarter but still managed to pull one off. They do have to be more careful, though, given that Irving isn’t expected to play.

As such, Luka Doncic (31.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 8.7 APG) will have a lot of offensive burden. It will depend on Hardaway Jr.’s availability, but if THJ is unavailable, Williams and Lively should be ready to support the Slovenian superstar. Lively is fresh-off a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Dante Exum has had two good outings (23/6/7 vs. POR, 16/4/6 vs. MEM) and is someone to watch out for as well.

PREDICTION:

Handicap: Mavs (+2.5)

Over/Under: The total goes over 235.5