On Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
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Two of the NBA’s most in-form teams heading into the All-Star break are eager to maintain their momentum as they face off on Thursday night when the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
However, the Lakers will be without LeBron James due to a persistent left ankle injury. These California rivals commence the second half of the season holding onto the ninth and tenth spots in the NBA playoff race, positions that would secure them a place in the play-in tournament.
The Lakers have reinforced their position by securing victories in their last three games after a loss to the Nuggets. They had also won three consecutive games before the Denver match. Los Angeles’ most recent outing was a 138-122 triumph over Utah on Feb. 14, achieved without James. The 39-year-old star made a brief appearance in Sunday’s All-Star Game but was limited to just 14 minutes due to his ankle injury.
On Wednesday, the Lakers announced that James would be sidelined for the Golden State game. His availability for the Lakers’ Friday home game against the San Antonio Spurs and Sunday road game against the Phoenix Suns remains uncertain.
For the Warriors, only Paul will be unavailable for the game due to a hand injury. As for the Lakers, Christie (ankle injury), Reddish (ankle injury), Vanderbilt (foot injury), and Vincent (knee injury) will sit this one out.
James looked in excellent shape when the Lakers secured a 145-144 double-overtime victory against the Warriors on Jan. 27. He contributed 12 assists, 36 points, and a career-best 20 rebounds, playing for 48 of the 58 minutes.
The Warriors bounced back admirably from the loss, winning eight of their last ten games before the break. Their only defeats during this stretch were an overtime game against Atlanta and a home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, where they squandered a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.
During the All-Star Weekend, viewers witnessed Golden State’s Stephen Curry deliver a spectacular 3-point shooting performance in his matchup against WNBA standout Sabrina Ionescu. However, this was nothing out of the ordinary for Warriors fans, as they had already seen him make seven or more three-pointers in seven of his last 11 games before the event in Indianapolis.
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