Lakers Heavy Favorites To Pull Off Third Win Against Grounded Rockets

Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers watches with LeBron James #6 — The Lakers try to extend their win streak to three when they visit the Rockets. Getty Images | Harry How

KEY POINTS

The Lakers will try to get another win to move up the Western Conference standings
The Rockets have been playing spoilers and may pull off a stunner against the Lakers
A win by the Lakers would help them catch up with the New Orleans Pelicans at the seventh spot

The Los Angeles Lakers will be looking for another win when they visit the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center in Texas Sunday.

The Lakers are installed as -11 favorites to prevail over the Rockets, which are already eliminated from the 2022-23 NBA season. The moneyline for this matchup is -641 for Los Angeles and +460 for Houston, USA Today reported.

The Lakers and the Rockets are even in their regular season series matchup at 1-1.

The purple and gold are coming off a 123-111 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday, allowing the former to overtake the latter in the Western Conference standings.

Anthony Davis led the way with a monster double-double performance, dropping 38 points and hauling down 17 rebounds. LeBron James finished with a double-double of his own with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

"You've got to have that one pivotal force that's leading the charge, and in our case with this particular team here in the moment, it's AD," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said Friday, ESPN reported. "When he comes out and he's aggressive and we're feeding him and he's not settling and he's putting pressure on the paint, putting pressure on the rim, we find ourselves having a lot of success."

The Lakers are looking to win as many games as they can with only five playdates remaining. They are currently in the eighth spot with a 39-38 win-loss record. A win would bolster their chances heading into the playoffs.

As for the Rockets, they are also coming off a win over the Detroit Pistons Friday in a battle of already-eliminated teams.

Kevin Porter Jr. led the way with 33 points and four steals. Jalen Green added 32 markers of his own along with five assists.

"We wanted this one bad, definitely," Porter was quoted as saying by ESPN. "The last couple of games, we felt like we should've closed some out. So we knew Detroit was our first home game back and we definitely wanted this one to start off our home stretch."

Although the Rockets are already out of the NBA playoffs, the Lakers cannot afford to take them lightly. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. EDT Sunday, with the game set to be shown over AT&T Sportsnet Southwest. Live streaming is also available via NBA League Pass.