The Los Angeles Lakers continue on in life without their two stars, though they took down the Utah Jazz and the best record in the NBA on Saturday night. The Lakers will have another shot at the game’s best on Monday night at the Staples Center. Los Angeles’ 127-115 overtime win at home Saturday improved their record to 35-22 for the fifth best record in the Western Conference, while the Jazz dropped to 42-15, still 1.5 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the top record in the league.
On the injury report, Utah’s Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert are expected to play, while Derrick Favors and Ersan Ilyasova are listed as questionable. Donovan Mitchell left Friday’s game with an ankle injury and is out indefinitely. Without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers also may be without Marc Gasol, who missed Saturday’s game with an injured pinkie.
Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN
Pick ATS: Jazz -7
The loss of Mitchell is certainly a concern for Utah as we inch closer to the playoffs, but the Jazz should be motivated to not lose two games to the Lakers in three days. Neither team has a travel advantage, but Utah should be focused as the No. 1 team in the NBA even without their best player. The Jazz lost back-to-back games twice this season, while the Lakers have won consecutive games just once in the past month. Look for Utah to prove they can win big without Mitchell on the floor.
Player Prop: Player prop to be added later
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