The Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns each won one of their first two matchups this season, and one of them is about to gain the upper hand in the series just before Christmas Day as they square off in the desert.

Catch this game live on Wednesday, December 24, 2025 at 10:00 AM, Manila time

Away: Los Angeles Lakers (19-8, 12-4 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Marcus Smart
  • Austin Reaves (Questionable)
  • Jake LaRavia
  • LeBron James
  • Deandre Ayton

The Lakers will look to finish a four-game road trip on a positive note. They are coming off a 103-88 loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers in Inglewood on Sunday, which snapped the Purple & Gold’s two-game winning streak. 

That stretch included the Lakers’ 116-114 win over Phoenix on the road on Dec. 15, when the triumvirate of Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Deandre Ayton pummeled the Suns for a total of 75 points. 

However, Doncic, who had 29 points of those points, will not be there to help his team on the court this Wednesday, as he’s been ruled out with a leg injury. One potential good news for the Lakers amid Doncic’s expected absence is the possible return of Austin Reaves from a three-game absence because of a calf issue. Reaves is listed as questionable for the meeting with the Suns at the time of this writing.

The Lakers have covered the spread in three of their last five regular-season games in Phoenix.

Home: Phoenix Suns (15-13, 9-5 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Collin Gillespie
  • Devin Booker
  • Royce O’Neale
  • Dillon Brooks
  • Mark Williams

The Suns split their two-game home-and-away set with the Golden State Warriors and will now be facing Los Angeles again. Phoenix defeated the Dubs at home (99-98) last Friday and then suffered a 119-116 loss to the Warriors in San Francisco on Sunday. In both games, Devin Booker unsurprisingly led Phoenix in scoring with 25 and 38 points, respectively. 

In the last meeting with LA, the former Kentucky Wildcats star had 27 points, while former ex-Lakers big man Mark Williams had 20 points on a near-perfect 9-for-10 shooting. 

With Doncic not around for the Lakers, the task of slowing down LA’s attack should be easier this time around for the Suns, who are 10th in the NBA as of Tuesday with just 114.1 points allowed per game.

The Suns are 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 games as the home team.

Picks

Spread: Suns (-4.5)
Over/Under: Over (224.5)