Kobe and LeBron Highlight Thursday Night Hoops

NBA betting has another exciting doubleheader set for Thursday night. Some of the Association’s top players are in action including LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, who go head-to-head in a rematch of their Christmas Day showdown.

Los Angeles Lakers at Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers slapped the defending NBA champs in the face during the holidays, running away with a 102-87 victory as 6-point road underdogs that prompted the L.A. faithful to litter the court with foam hands in protest. Cleveland has been rolling since that fateful meeting, going 10-3 but covering the NBA point spread just five times in that span.

The Cavaliers expect to have scoring guard Mo Williams on the floor Thursday. He left in the third quarter of Tuesday’s win over the Toronto Raptors with a sprained shoulder but returned to finish with 22 points. Cleveland will be without forward Jamario Moon, who was huge on defense against Pau Gasol and added 13 points off the bench in the Christmas Day win. Moon has been sidelined with an abdominal injury for the last seven games.

The Lakers are coming off three straight wins since dropping three of four games last week. Los Angeles is 2-0-1 ATS in this span, having pushed with the number in a 98-92 win in a Finals rematch with the Orlando Magic on Tuesday.

Kobe Bryant scored just 11 points in that game while nursing a sore back and broken finger. Bryant is averaging just under 16 points in his last five games, deferring scoring duties to reserve guard Shannon Brown. The athletic leaper is averaging more than 13 points off the bench in those five games.

Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets

The Clippers got the best of the Nuggets in their most recent meeting. Los Angeles came away with a 106-99 win as a 9-point home underdog back in late November. Reserve forward Rasual Butler came up big with 27 points off the pine in that game, going 4-for-9 from beyond the arc.

The Clippers snapped a four-game losing skid with a win over the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday, winning 106-95 as 8-point home favorites. Heading into Wednesday, that game marks the eighth time in the past 10 outings that Los Angeles had covered the NBA point spread. The return of center Chris Kaman sparked that victory; he scored 22 points, pulled down seven rebounds, and blocked three shots after missing all four of those recent losses.

The Nuggets will be coming off a fast-paced game with the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday before making the trip to Los Angeles. Heading into that game, Denver had won five of its last six games while going 2-2-2 ATS.

The Nuggets have tumbled on the road this year, posting an 8-11 record (7-11-1 ATS). Not even the red-hot play of Carmelo Anthony may be enough to right the ship. Anthony scored a combined 88 points in his first three games back from a knee injury that sidelined the All-Star forward for five games.

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