Warriors Favored To Book Sixth Straight Win Against Undermanned Lakers; Curry Set To Return

Anthony Davis will have to hold up the fort anew when the Lakers host the Warriors on Sunday, Mar. 5.
Getty Images/Christian Petersen

KEY POINTS

The Lakers will try to bounce back with a win when they face the Warriors on Sunday
Stephen Curry may return to active duty for the Warriors against the Lakers
Darvin Ham needs to get more offense from his bench if they are to pull off a win against the Dubs

The Los Angeles Lakers will be looking to bounce back from a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday when they host the Golden State Warriors at the Crypto.com Arena.

Despite having home court advantage, pundits favor the visiting Dubs in their upcoming matchup. The Warriors are -5 spread favorites to prevail over the purple and gold. The moneyline is set at -215 for Golden State and +179 for Los Angeles, according to USA Today’s For The Win.

Adding to the problems of Lakers coach Darvin Ham is the impending return of Stephen Curry to the Warriors’ roster. The Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes reported, citing unnamed league sources, that Curry intends to return to the floor Sunday barring setbacks.

The Lakers, meanwhile, will continue to miss the services of LeBron James, who is out with a foot injury.

The Lakers are coming off a 102-110 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, despite the return of Anthony Davis to active duty.

Davis finished Friday’s loss to the T-Wolves with 38 points and five rebounds. Malik Beasley added 15 markers and eight boards.

The Lakers struggled in offense, Aside from Lonnie Walker IV, who chipped in 10 points, no other Laker scored in double figures.

“I feel like we’re playing pretty good basketball,” Davis said after the game, according to a report by ESPN. “When our team is whole, we’ve shown what we can do. It’s just tough, knowing how good we are.”

On the other side, the Warriors are looking to keep their winning ways. They are on a five-game winning streak, and the reported return of Curry can boost their chances of extending their winning run to six games.

Their last win came Friday when they defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 108-99. Klay Thompson led the Dubs with 27 points and four assists. Jonathan Kuminga, coming off the bench, backed up Thompson with 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

“Every one of these wins was marked by our team kind of getting over the hump. Overcoming a lot of deficits, turning up the defense and grinding out games down the stretch. It’s been exciting to see our team turn a corner, but we still need to go out and win on the road,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said post-game, according to ESPN.

The Lakers will face the Warriors Sunday, with a tip-off set for 3:30 p.m. EST. The game will be shown over ABC, with live streaming also available via FuboTV.