Sonics Take on Lakers
The way they’re playing, the Los Angeles Lakers might be sad to see this road-heavy stretch of their schedule end.
The Lakers visit the Seattle SuperSonics on Sunday, trying to win seven consecutive road games for the first time in almost eight years.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Los Angeles -10 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 216 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 82% of bets for this game have been placed on Los Angeles -10 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
Los Angeles (38-17) has played 11 of its last 12 on the road, going 10-2 in that span to move into a tie with Phoenix for the Western Conference lead. The Lakers won their seventh straight overall Saturday, 113-95 over the Los Angeles Clippers.
"Obviously, we’re in a great situation – we’re playing well, we’ve got confidence, we’ve got the weapons," Pau Gasol said.
Gasol scored 23 points and Lamar Odom added 20 points and 10 rebounds. Kobe Bryant, who had 41 points in a win over Phoenix on Wednesday, contributed 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting to go with seven assists. Bryant came into the game averaging 32.2 points in the previous six games.
Saturday was another easy victory for Los Angeles, which has averaged 115.6 points the last seven games while winning by an average of 14.4 points. They are shooting 50.3 percent from the field, including 35.9 percent (52-of-145) from 3-point range, in that stretch.
"We’ve got 10, 11, 12 guys who can all make shots – some from distance," Odom said. "We’re playing pretty good basketball. We expect to win."
The Lakers, who also won seven in a row in January, have not won eight straight since an 11-game run from March 13-April 2, 2004. The six-game road winning streak is their longest in five years.
The last time the Lakers won seven in a row on the road was from March 17-April 5, 2000.
Los Angeles looks to close out this stretch strong as it tries for its fifth straight win over Seattle (15-39). The Lakers have won both meetings this season and four of their last five visits to KeyArena.
Bryant scored 48 points in the Lakers’ 123-121 overtime road win at Seattle on Jan. 14. He’s averaging 24.7 points in 41 career games against the Sonics, reaching the 40-point mark seven times.
Seattle, which has the third-worst record in the Western Conference, has won two of its last three, including a 99-87 victory over Portland on Friday.
The Sonics jumped out to a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter and led by 14 at the break. Six players scored in double figures, led by rookie Kevin Durant, who had 17 points in 28 minutes.
Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo kept his star forward on the bench most of the fourth quarter while his reserves took over. Damien Wilkins scored 13 points and added eight rebounds to lead the bench players.
"Our bench really gave us a big lift," Carlesimo said. "I think we were able to stay a little fresher because the guys off the bench gave us such good production."
Seattle has won back-to-back games just four times this season, including a season-high three-game win streak from Jan. 29-Feb. 2.
The Sonics are 10-18 at home, winning five of their last seven in Seattle.
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
More NBA Basketball Coverage from theSpread.com
– NBA Basketball teams
– NBA Basketball standings
– NBA Basketball schedule
– NBA Basketball scoreboard
– NBA Basketball injuries
– NBA Basketball matchups
– NBA Basketball stats
– NBA Basketball odds
– NBA Basketball public betting chart
– NBA Basketball news wire
– NBA Basketball top stories
– NBA Basketball trends
– AccuScore NBA Basketball predictions
– Expert NBA Basketball picks
– Comments and discussion
– Signup for theSpread.com daily newsletter
– NBA Basketball Home
