Who is playing
Portland Trail Blazers @ Los Angeles Lakers
Current records: Portland 11-21, Los Angeles 18-14
How to watch
- When: Thursday, January 2, 2025 at 10:30 pm ET
- Where: Crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, California
- TV: KATU 2.2 ABC
- Continue: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try it for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket cost: $83.00
What to know
The Trail Blazers have enjoyed a three-game homestand, but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will venture away from home to challenge the Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30 pm ET on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena. The Trail Blazers may want some stickiness for this one, as the team had 24 turnovers on Monday.
The Trail Blazers hope to turn things around Thursday after a slow start to the season that looks a lot like last year. They suffered a dismal 125-103 loss to the 76ers. Portland trailed 91-72 at the end of the third quarter, and things only got worse from there.
Meanwhile, the Lakers couldn’t beat the Cavaliers on Tuesday and fell 122-110.
The defeat does not tell the whole story, since several players played good games. One of the most active was Austin Reaves, who almost achieved a triple-double with 35 points, nine rebounds and ten assists. The game was the third in a row with at least 30 points. Another player who made the difference was Anthony Davis, who had a double-double with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
Portland’s loss ended a three-game winning streak at home and dropped them to 11-21. As for Los Angeles, their loss dropped their record to 18-14.
The Trail Blazers hope to beat the odds on Thursday as experts believe they are headed for a loss. Anyone thinking about taking them against the spread should keep this in mind: The team has not covered the last three times it played Los Angeles.
The Trail Blazers came up short against the Lakers in their previous matchup in December 2024, falling 107-98. Can the Trail Blazers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We will know soon.
Odd
Los Angeles is a heavy 9-point favorite against Portland, according to latest report NBA Odds.
Bettors had a good idea of the line for this one, as the game began with the Lakers as 8-point favorites.
The over/under is 224.5 points.
See NBA selections for every game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get Picks Now.
History of the series
Los Angeles has won 7 of its last 10 games against Portland.
- December 8, 2024 – Los Angeles 107 vs. Portland 98
- January 21, 2024: Los Angeles 134 vs. Portland 110
- November 17, 2023: Los Angeles 107 vs. Portland 95
- November 12, 2023: Los Angeles 116 vs. Portland 110
- February 13, 2023: Portland 127 vs. Los Angeles 115
- January 22, 2023: Los Angeles 121 vs. Portland 112
- November 30, 2022: Los Angeles 128 vs. Portland 109
- October 23, 2022: Portland 106 vs. Los Angeles 104
- February 9, 2022: Portland 107 vs. Los Angeles 105
- February 2, 2022 – Los Angeles 99 vs. Portland 94
