Lakers @ Mavericks

Who will WIN this matchup?

Los Angeles Lakers (30-7)

@ Dallas Mavericks (23-14)

Current odds:

Los Angeles Lakers: (+120)

Dallas Mavericks: (-140)

• The line for this game is Dallas by 2.5 points.

• Los Angeles star power forward Anthony Davis is questionable with a backside contusion as the Lakers get set to visit the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. Davis took a hard fall to the floor during Tuesday’s game against the New York Knicks and the club diagnosed him with a gluteus maximus contusion. Davis has been ruled out as of late Friday afternoon. Davis and LeBron James have formed a dangerous duo and helped Los Angeles win six straight games as well as owning the best record in the Western Conference. “He’s one of our pillars,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel told reporters of Davis. “He’s our present. He’s our future. He’s one of the best players in the world, so obviously he means a lot.”

• Dallas dropped four of its past six games, including a 107-106 home loss to Denver on Wednesday when Nuggets star Nikola Jokic hit the decisive basket with 7.9 seconds remaining. “We didn’t do a good job on the Jokic basket at the end,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said afterward. “And then on our last offensive possession, they did a good job defending it and we turned it over. Whenever these things happen, I take responsibility for that and we’ve got to work on it. It’s just a tough loss. We’re all disappointed.”

• James scored 31 points in the rout over the Knicks and he did much of his damage by knocking down six 3-pointers to match a season high. “I work on my game every day to not have any weakness,” James told reporters. “Some of my game is better than others, but I don’t believe I have any weakness and if a team decided to go under my pick and roll, I have the luxury to stop and pop, shoot that 3-pointer. It was given to me so I took it.” Veteran center Dwight Howard could see an increased role if Davis sits out and he is averaging 9.5 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots over the past two games.

• Dallas star guard Luka Doncic recorded 27 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds against Denver but he had a hand in the loss by going scoreless in the fourth quarter. The Nuggets made it a priority to trap Doncic and force the ball out of his hands and the strategy paid off as the Mavericks scored just 17 points in the final stanza. “The game wasn’t lost at the end,” shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. insisted to reporters. “It was lost in the first, second, third and little parts of the fourth.”

• The Lakers are 2-1 against the Mavericks this season and won eight of the past 10 matchups.

• Dallas PF Kristaps Porzingis (knee) is expected to miss his sixth straight game.

• Los Angeles PG Rajon Rondo had 10 assists against New York for his third double-digit performance of the campaign.