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Lakers seek 3rd straight win Friday at Mavs
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 11/21/2014  at  5:00:00 AM
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LOS ANGELES LAKERS (3-9)

at DALLAS MAVERICKS (9-3)

Tip-off: Friday, 8:35 p.m. ET
Line: Dallas -9.5, Total: 217.5

The Lakers look to win their third straight game when they head to Big D on Friday night to take on the red-hot Mavericks.

Los Angeles hopes to wrap up a perfect three-game road trip on Friday that began with a 114-109 win over 8.5-point favorite Atlanta on Tuesday followed by a shocking 98-92 victory at double-digit favorite Houston a day later. The Lakers are now 5-2-1 ATS in their past eight contests. Dallas hasn't lost a game SU or ATS since Nov. 9, breaking off five straight SU victories (3-0-2 ATS). This includes Wednesday's 105-102 win at Washington where the Mavs made only 41.5% FG, ending a three-game streak of making more than half of their shots. Last season, Dallas won-and-covered in all three games it played against Los Angeles, prevailing by 19, 13 and 12 points in the three meetings. However, the Lakers are 4-2 SU and ATS when playing in Big D since the start of 2012. The Mavericks are 6-17 ATS in the past three seasons at home after having won five or six of their previous seven games, while Los Angeles is 46-25 ATS in road games off two or more consecutive road wins since 1996. The Mavericks are, however, 35-18 ATS after three straight games committing 14 or less turnovers over the past three seasons. Dallas could be undermanned in this matchup with PG Raymond Felton suspended and both PF Dirk Nowitzki (ankle) and PG Devin Harris (leg) questionable for Friday night.

Can the Lakers pull off a third straight upset win? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a 59% ATS record (33-23) in featured games this season. StatFox Gary is off to a great start to the 2014-15 campaign at 61% ATS (11-7) in his Best Bets.

Since SG Nick Young (16.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.5 SPG) came back from injury, the Lakers have won two straight games. Young had 16 points and four rebounds in the 98-92 win over the Rockets on Wednesday, and he is providing the Lakers with the second scoring option that they’ve so desperately needed this year. The return of Young has allowed SG Kobe Bryant (27.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.0 APG) to finally trust one of his teammates late in games. Young’s ability to score hasn’t prevented Bryant from getting his share of shots, as he is averaging 28.5 PPG and 5.0 APG since his return. Bryant will need to use his size to his advantage in this game, as he’ll likely be covered by a much shorter Monta Ellis. The X-factor in this game for Los Angeles is going to be C Jordan Hill (14.0 PPG, 9.7 RPG). Hill came back this season with a new and improved mid-range jumper and he’s really helped this team with his size and energy around the basket as well. He had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Houston and will likely be matched up with Dirk Nowitzki in this game. The Lakers need him to hold his own in this difficult one-on-one matchup.

The Mavericks are one of the hottest teams in basketball and have been downright dominant at times this season. Dallas is averaging an NBA-best 108.9 PPG while ranking second in the league in shooting (48.6% FG). The team has gotten so many good looks due to averaging 23.9 APG (5th in NBA) and that speaks volume about this team’s character, as the roster is filled with players that are more than capable of scoring in isolation situations. PF Dirk Nowitzki (19.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG) is still this team’s most dangerous weapon and he will see plenty of touches in the post in this game. In the three-game sweep of L.A. during the 2013-14 regular season, Nowitzki averaged 21.7 PPG on a robust 63% FG with 8.0 RPG and 4.3 APG. His fadeaway is still as hard to guard as ever and he has more room to operate thanks to the play of SG Monta Ellis (19.7 PPG, 4.2 APG, 1.2 SPG), who also thrived versus the Lakers last season with 18.0 PPG, 9.0 APG and 2.3 SPG in the three victories. Ellis is coming off a game in which he scored 34 points with four assists in a win over the Wizards. He’ll need to use his speed to break down a much slower Kobe Bryant off the dribble. C Tyson Chandler (10.9 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 1.7 BPG) has been everything this team thought he would be when they traded for him this summer. Chandler was a monster in Wednesday's win over the Wizards, scoring just five points, but adding 16 rebounds and three blocks. His willingness to do the dirty work has made Dallas a much better team this season.


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