Lakers vs. Pacers Preview and Game Thread: Can the Lakers stay undefeated in their current road trip?
The Lakers have the opportunity to make it six games in a row but it’ll take a hard-earned victory for them to do that on the road against the Pacers
The Lakers and Pacers will meet for the second time this week, but this time in Indiana. This will be L.A.’s third stop of their current six-game road trip as they have an opportunity to extend their winning streak to six games.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Indiana Pacers
When: 4 p.m. PT, Mar 29
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet, NBA TV
The Lakers have a rare opportunity to finally win six games in a row. I say rare because they haven’t done this since May 2021, but at least this season, the winning streak is happening at a crucial time. They can extend their winning streak on Friday, but it’ll only come with a hard-earned victory.
It’ll be hard-earned because it’s never easy to defeat an above-average team like the Pacers twice in a week. Second, Indiana plays well at home. And they’ll want to take revenge for losing Sunday. So, the Lakers will have to bring their A game in this one, especially if one of Anthony Davis or LeBron James — who are both listed as questionable ahead of Friday’s game — doesn’t suit up.
If Davis, whose current injury is labeled as left knee hyperextension, doesn’t play, then Los Angeles will have no one to contain Myles Turner. But if AD plays, then there’s a good chance the Lakers will have a game like their last meeting when 70 of their 150 points came inside the paint.
Another key factor in the Lakers' victory Friday was their defense. They did a good job limiting Tyrese Haliburton to just 12 points on 5-13 shooting, but the Lakers didn’t seem to have an answer for Pascal Siakam.
Siakam went off for 36 points — 19 of which were in the third quarter alone — to keep Indiana in the game. The Pacers also took advantage of the Lakers’ poor rebounding to score 24 second-chance points. It’s safe to assume that the Pacers will attempt to expose the Lakers once again.
Friday’s match will be a battle of adjustments and mismatches. The Lakers (41-31) and Pacers (41-33) have almost identical records, which is ironic because they faced each other in the In Season Tournament finals. Like Sunday, both teams could really use a win right now to improve their chances of climbing up in their respective conference standings.
Let’s see if the Lakers will be the team that ends up with the victory and leaves Indiana with a six-game winning streak.
Notes and Updates:
- For the Lakers’ injury report, Anthony Davis (left knee hyperextension) and LeBron James (left ankle peroneal tendinopathy) are noted as questionable. Meanwhile, Christian Wood (left knee effusion), Gabe Vincent (left knee surgery), Jarred Vanderbilt (right midfoot sprain), Jalen Hood-Schfino (back disc surgery) and Collin Castleton (right wrist fracture) are expected to be out.
- As for the Pacers, Bennedict Mathurin (right shoulder labral tear) is out.
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani